Summer Boys
by cracker-jacks000
Summary: Suddenly, having a summer boy sounded like fun. RikuxNamine. Some SoraxKairi.
1. Just Another Summer Boy

**A/N: **_Just felt like writing a RikuxNamine summer thing, being it summer and all and I still haven't written a summer fic. Enjoy this short, fluffy thing I wrote durring free time -laughs- and review if you like. _

**Disclaimer: **I don't own club music, or the kingdom hearts charecters. BUT, I _do _own the plot. :)

_P.s._ Charecters are **WAY** OOC!!!!!

**Summer Boys**

Namine let her body move to the music, swaying from side to side smoothly, trying not to drop her drink. She threw her free arm in the air and moved herself around even faster, catching the attention of quite a few pervy boys, and the odd thing was; she didn't care if they were watching. Usually, she tried to stay unnoticed. Maybe it was the drink messing with her head.

She finally finished her drink and got into the music a little more, trying to get herself even more attention. It wasn't long until a small crowd of boys were asking her if she wanted to dance with them. Ether that or they'd just sit there and flirt with her. Her reply was the same every time; "Maybe next time, buddy."

Feeling totally confident and absolutely sexy, she ran both her hands through her hair and moved her hips in a seducing rhythm, biting her bottom lip a little. She loved the way it felt to have all eyes on her.

Hours later, she was totally exhausted from non-stop dancing. She sat outside of the house where the party was being held, in the backyard on the deck with a different crowd of people standing around and sipping on drinks. She grabbed another drink herself and sat down on the steps leading down to the beach, right in front of the ocean, which looked even more brilliant at night. The sound of the faded music inside, the chattering of people, and the ocean crashing up against the shore made her even more tired than she already was.

Setting her drink next to her on the steps and leaning over, resting her crossed arms over her lap, she just stared out into space for a while. She hadn't noticed it until now, but California looked _a lot_ like Destiny Islands. She was surprised that she'd taken this long to notice it, because she'd been coming here every summer for at least five years. The thought made her a little depressed. It wasn't like she didn't like it here in California, but her boyfriend decided not to come with her this year. He stayed behind to skateboard with his friends in some retarded summer-long contest. _Some boyfriend. _

Her thoughts were interrupted when some tall, _extremely _hot guy moved her drink out of his way and sat next to her, giving her this smile like he already knew her. "Hey," he waved, "what's up?"

Namine reached back for her drink and sat up straight, giving him a weak grin, "Sorry, I have a boyfriend. Not interested." You couldn't imagine how hard it was to say that. The sexiest guy she'd, like, ever seen was flirting with her. She suddenly wished her boyfriend had been sitting next to her instead, because then she wouldn't have to reject the, like, 100th hot guy of the night.

"Oh?" The guy asked, not looking convinced. "What's his name, then?"

Namine gave him a _back-off _look and said, "Roxas."

"Hmmm..." The guy leaned back, using his arms to support his incredibly toned body. Namine decided to start calling him no-name because he hadn't bothered to give her his name yet. It kind of ticked her off.

Namine tried not to look at him, already having a boyfriend and all, and she stared at the ocean again, trying not to think about how sexy the guy sitting next to her was. After a minute or two of silence, Namine finally opened her mouth. "What are you doing still sitting next to me? I'm sure that girl over there will give you all the attention you need."

"Alright, Fine," No-name boy gave in, "I'll go 'flirt' with her instead."

For some reason, Namine felt somewhat crushed. What...? Was she expecting him to say something cheesy like _"I'd rather flirt with you" _or something? NO.

Maybe.

God, she didn't even know this guy! Why the **_hell _**was she thinking like this? Again, she blamed it on the drink.

She watched him walk away; trying not to let her eyes wonder to places they shouldn't be wondering. But then, he suddenly turned around and acted like he _totally_ didn't just catch her checking him out. "Scratch that," He chuckled, "I think she might be taken too!"

Namine rolled her eyes like he totally wasn't funny. She purposely looked annoyed, knowing that he was watching. But obviously, he didn't care what she was feeling because he sat right back down next to her and grinned. "Looks like I'm stuck with you."

"Oh, thanks." Namine shook her head, rubbing her eyes and resisting the urge to look at him again.

No-name laughed more. "That's supposed to be a good thing."

"You must really like bothering people." Namine huffed, a little fed up. Some people just don't know when to give up.

"Only the attractive people."

Namine's face turned, like, ten different shades of red just then, and she hid her face from him by flipping her hair out from behind her ears and leaning forward. Ha! He was good. "Nice try, no-name." She tried to sound as un- embarrassed as possible.

"No-name?" The guy seemed a little confused for a second, and then he busted up laughing. "I am _so_ sorry."

Namine didn't say anything, took her drink, and finished what was left in the cup.

"It's Riku."

_Riku..._

"Well," Namine half laughed, "that's an interesting name."

Riku laughed loudly again, and shook his head back and fourth, letting his long, silverish/bluish hair fall in front of his face. It took all the strength Namine had not to drop the empty cup and start snogging him. Man, if she could just...

Namine shook her head at herself violently, forcing the bad thoughts from her head. For the third time, the drink was blamed.

"Uh," Riku leaned over so he would be look up at her, "You okay?"

Namine noticed the amused look on his face. He must've thought it was funny that she was so red.

"I'm fine."

"You bet."

Namine coughed, and sighed deeply. "I mean-- I'm _okay_."

Riku laughed and patted her back, "I'm just messing with you."

"Well, quit it!" Now Namine was _really_ worked up. So much so that she got up, threw the cup away, gave him a Quit-talking-to-me look and waved goodbye. With that, she began headed off down towards the beach. Well, she was going to head towards the beach, if it wasn't for Riku rushing after her and grabbing her wrist.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Riku gave her this look that made her blood run cold. "A little bitchy this evening, are we?"

"I'm not going to repeat myself," Namine started, "I. Have. A. _Boyfriend_."

Riku let go of her wrist, and stood in front of her. "So? That doesn't mean I can't be friendly."

Namine huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Besides," he started again, "I'm not interested in being a summer boy anyways!"

"A...summer boy?" Namine made a face.

"You know, just another "summer boyfriend?" Riku suddenly got all smart-assy. For some odd, disgusting reason, it turned Namine on.

Namine raised an eyebrow, and un-folded her arms. The confused look on her face looked ridiculous. "So... Why are you talking to me then?"

"Just looking for something to do."

"Whatever, I guess." Namine shrugged. For some reason, she trusted this guy. She wasn't worried about it anymore, but she still wished her hormones would quit giving her the urge to check him out again. God only knows what he'd say if he caught her, _Again. _

"Now that _that's _over with," Riku took a deep breath, and then that same goofy, but incredibly sexy look was plastered on his face again, "you wanna take a walk or something? I don't know about you, but all the loud music is making my head pound."

Namine rolled her eyes and shrugged, looking at something, anything that wasn't him. "Whatever."

Riku lead the way, Namine mostly followed from behind. She tried to keep up with him several times, but, you know hormones. She'd just accidentally fall behind and he didn't really seem to notice. Or care.

All year, Namine had imagined herself walking alone the California beach with Roxas instead of this new guy. But, he was a boy and he loved his skateboard. _Whatever,_ Namine thought. She understood. At least she got to walk alone the beach with _someone._

"I should have grabbed a drink before we left..." Namine didn't realize she'd said this out loud. The silence now broken, Riku looked over her shoulder and finally noticed she was falling behind.

"I could go get one for you." He offered.

"No, that's okay." Namine assured him. If she had anything else to drink, she just might go insane.

Riku threw his hand towards him, urging Namine to catch up. She took a deep breath and walked faster, until she was walking right next to him. They walked a little longer before Riku began complaining that his feet hurt. They stopped and he sat down next to the ocean and patted the ground next to him, sending her a silent invitation to join him.

When she sat down, she checked to make sure that they were sitting at least 6 inches apart. Sure, he'd convinced her enough that he wasn't going to try anything, but still, she wasn't a total dumb ass. Cheating wasn't on her mind right now.

After a long time of just sitting there, sitting on the white beach and watching the ocean, Riku broke the silence by turning to her and waving a hand in front of her face. "Hey, you!" he called.

"_What?" _She asked rather coldly.

"I just remembered something," he started, looking just a little anxious, which name her a little uneasy, "what's your name?"

"Uh..." Namine sighed; glad that's all it was that got him so worked up. They way he'd turned over and nearly hovered over her when he asked made her just a_ little_ uncomfortable. "Namine."

Riku turned back over, putting space between them again, and thought for a second. "That's a nice name."

Namine brought her legs up to her chest and hugged them; resting her head on her knees and turning her head back towards the ocean. She began to admire the way the stars reflected on the ocean. "Thanks."

"No problem," Riku leaned back, "just being honest."

"Sure," Namine laughed like it was some kind of joke, "nobody's ever really complemented my name."

"Pfft," Riku chuckled. "_Liar_."

Namine huffed, "I'm not lying! You know, it's mean to just go around accusing people."

"You're serious?" Riku looked seriously dumbfounded. "Nobody's _ever_ mentioned how pretty your name is?"

**_Pretty? _**

Namine blushed again, until the point where she looked like a cherry. She shook her head slowly as if to say 'no.'

"Wow..." Riku seemed amazed. "Not even your boyfriend?"

Namine shook her head again, and the look on Riku's face just then made her feel a bit... sad.

"Hey, where do you live anyways?" He changed the subject. "You wouldn't mind if I stopped by every now and then, now would you?"

"Oh, I don't really live here. I'm just here for the summer. I live in Destiny Islands." Namine explained, giving him a 'sorry' shrug.

"Oh, really?!" Riku was excited all of a sudden, startling Namine a bit. "Me too!"

_Oh my freaking GOD! _

Namine choked on the air she was breathing and leaned forward, coughing a few times, and looked up at him. "You're joking!" _Oh please... Please, please, **please** tell me he's joking. _

"No, I really do!" Riku turned back to the ocean for a second, the shocked/excited look on his face turning into a more thoughtful one. "Do you know what this means?"

"You can ask for my phone number, ask where I live again and annoy the crap out of me _all year long_?!" Namine wished she'd been a little nicer when his expression blew away in the wind.

"Uh, no..."

Namine didn't even apologize. She didn't say anything. All she really did was stare right back at him, and that's the way that it stayed for a good, solid five minutes before Riku shook his head and faced the sea.

"Forget it," He said.

Namine hugged her legs again, and sighed miserably. Why her? Now she was the bad guy.

Girl...

Whatever…

"Hey," Riku started again, still avoiding her gaze. "Not like I'm interested or anything, but what do you like about that guy anyways."

"Umm..." Namine pondered a bit. Surprisingly, it was hard to think of something right away. What kind of a girlfriend was she? "He's..._ Funny_?"

"Alright," Riku continued, "is there anything you _don't_ like about him?"

Namine was even more surprised with herself when a whole list popped into her head. Man, she was horrible! "He's got this attitude... and... He's almost always late to our dates, he's not very loyal, sometimes I think he cares about his skateboard more than me," Namine was counting everything off on her fingers, unaware of the stunned look on Riku face, "and worst of all; he hardly ever pays any attention to me! It's like I don't exist most of the time!" Now, taking a moment to realize everything she'd just told this guy, she wished she could take it all back. She really did. Since when did she just go around telling people all these horrible things about her _boyfriend!? _The worst part was that everything she'd said about him was true.

"Geez..." Riku rubbed the back of his neck like he was sorry for asking.

"I-" Namine paused for a second to actually think about what she'd say this time. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay." Riku smiled at her. "But I can't help wondering why you date this guy in the first place. I'd never do any of that... And I'm not even... You know."

Namine began to think about all the little moments she and Roxas had had before. She thought about how incredibly amazing his kisses were, but she didn't care any more. Usually, when she thought about it, she'd melt. Now, she suddenly knew who she wanted to kiss instead.

Namine shook her head again, extremely hard. She shook it so hard that her hair was whipping around and almost smacked Riku in the face.

"Whoa!" He looked amused again. "Calm down. Did I hit a nerve or something?"

When Namine took a deep breath and looked at him, it was like there was a roller coaster inside her stomach. Why did she suddenly feel like she knew this guy more than she did? Why was she suddenly wishing she wasn't with--- _Ooooooh_. She **really** needed to quit it. No, _he _needed to quit it. If he kept looking at her like that...with those caring, aqua eyes...

Man! What was with her!?

Somehow, his eyes just kind 'locked' with hers when she really looked at him and his expression changed from an amused one to a more...thoughtful one. It looked like he was _just _as confused as she was.

Why was she suddenly falling for someone else? Why did she wish she'd never even met the jerk she calls her boyfriend. Wait...did she just call her boyfriend a jerk? Something really _was_ wrong with her.

She didn't care when she felt Riku sit closer to her. Almost close enough to where he was pressed up against her with that...hot body of his. She wanted to know _everything_ about him now. She wanted to forget about Roxas. Just forget about everything all summer long. Suddenly, having a 'summer boy' sounded like fun. And who knows? Maybe he'd be more than just that--

_Oh, but she was dreaming. Even with that dreamy expression of his and that look in his eye, it wasn't like he was going to lean over and..._

Riku suddenly reached up for the side of her face with his hand. He tilted her chin with the tips of his fingers and brushed his mouth against hers.

_...kiss her right now._

It was happening so fast that Namine could hardly think anymore. All she wanted to do was lean into his chest and kiss him back.

And that's exactly what she did.

She wasn't surprised when he got really into it and took a firm hold on her hips, leaning her back a little more towards the ground while he kissed her with passion…a_ real_ passion. It felt amazing. Namine took time to notice the way he tasted while his tongue skimmed over the top of hers. He tasted like... coffee and that drink she'd had twice earlier. An odd combination, but she loved it. His touch became more passionate when Namine's back hit the sand under them and his hands moved up, just a little bit under her plain white T-shirt.

_On man..._Namine savored every second.

But it was cut short when Riku suddenly pulled away, looking like he'd just done something terrible. He didn't get up or anything, he just stared at her the same way and it made her feel a little scared. "Oh, geez..." Riku looked at the sand next to her head instead of at her. "I'm, like, _really_ sorry."

Namine almost laughed…_almost. _Instead, she just reached up and pulled his face back towards her, kissing him on the lips hard. She was overjoyed when he kissed her back with just as much force.

And now she didn't care about the guy back home. All she cared about was here and now. It was all that mattered.

Riku laughed against her mouth and kissed her with even more hunger and passion than before, using his tongue in was that made Namine want to scream -- in a good way.

Finally, she got to explore that hot body of his with her _hands._ His body was even more toned and sexy now than she could've _ever _imagined. She grabbed a firm hold of his shirt and let him slip an arm under her to hold her up to him, pressing her body against his. It felt great, like, two pieces in a puzzle. They fit against each other perfectly.

"Is this okay?" Riku pulled away slightly and began a trail of kisses on her jaw line and down her neck.

The way Riku said it made her want to laugh. She guessed that was why he said it in the first place. "_Duh_."

"Good." Riku laughed and cut off her giggles with his lips again, playing with the strands of hair that fell down her front.

Namine sighed gratefully.

Nothing could be more perfect at the moment.

She couldn't wait to see what other amazing stuff he could do later tonight.

She couldn't wait to show him the stuff she could do, too.

Best of all, she couldn't _wait _to tell Roxas about it when she got home.

**End**

**A/N: **_That was seriously fun. i might make another chapter later this summer... Just 'cause. You never know. maybe if it's popular enough. I wouldn't mind making this a full-blown story when I'm finished with a few others :)_

Peace out- Cracker-Jacks000


	2. All The Small Things

**A/N: **Hey! Thanks so much for the reviews guys ;D I've decided to continue! The updates may be a little slow for a while, though. I've got school coming up.

**Disclaimer: **_Why are you even asking? _

_**Chapter 2**_

Namine turned to her side and yawned, just barely waking from sleep. She stretched her legs under the cozy blanket and got comfortable again, hiding her face under the covers to avoid the sunlight that poured through the window. She felt so wonderful there in the warmth of the bed. Every inch of her was totally relaxed. It was a little weird, though, because her bed wasn't _really_ this comfortable. Now suddenly it was.

She imagined that she'd been sleeping for well over ten hours. She probably needed it, too. With all the stress lately, it was kind of hard to relax at all.

She opened her eyes slowly and everything seemed blurry at first. All she could really see was the blue sky outside the window, which had a beautiful view of the ocean (by the way), and a mess of white.

That's_ odd..._

The house she was staying in for the summer was at least a mile from the ocean, and her blankets and pillows were colored dark blue, not white. Suddenly, Namine didn't feel right. It only added to her nervousness when she realized she wasn't wearing _anything._

She shot up, covering her chest with her arms, and blinked. Everything was clear and visible now. This was_ defiantly _not her room. Or her bed. Or even her house.

She was almost too afraid to see if anyone was lying next to her. _Almost. _

"Holy shit..." She muttered to herself when she saw the guy from last night, his messy silver hair resting on his back while he slept on his stomach. Suddenly, everything from last night began to flood into her head and she stared in terror, realizing what had happened.

_Ohmigod..._

Namine turned her attention away. If she kept looking at him, she just might explode. What the hell was with her?

She just... She just _seriously_ cheated on her boyfriend. And she knew she wasn't that kind of a person. Even if Roxas was a dickhead, which she'd fully come to realize just yesterday, that wasn't an excuse.

While Namine sat there and panicked, Riku stirred, shifting to his side and tugging on the covers.

Namine's eyes widened and she watched him, hoping to dear god he wouldn't wake up.

_Ohmigod, Ohmigod, _Ohmi_god!_

When he settled again, Namine examined his face just to make sure he wasn't awake. When she was curtain he wasn't, she quietly but quickly hopped out of his bed and began searching for her clothes. She had plenty of time to beat herself up later, right now she needed to _get out_ of here!

"Damnit..." Namine whispered when she'd searched the entire room and there was no sign of her clothes. More horrible thoughts about last night popped into her head at that moment, and she winced. It'd be nice if she was able to remember everything that happened, not just bits and pieces. The underage drinking had seriously screwed with her head yesterday. She made a mental not to stay away from _all _alcohol for a _very _long time. Which pretty much also meant staying away from all beach parties.

Giving up, she reached for the door to Riku's closet and searched for anything she could wear till she got home. She knew the entire area, so it wouldn't be too hard finding her house.

She grabbed a faded green Abercrombie T-shirt and basketball shorts, not to pleased with the way she looked. She shrugged, not having the time to worry about fashion right now, and headed for the door. But before she could even reach out of the door knob, she heard Riku shift again behind her and she froze.

"Uh..." He said, rubbing his eyes and sitting up. Namine turned around and he was staring at her with this ridiculously confused expression. "Namine?"

Namine didn't say anything. Oh boy, was she in for it. She wasn't the kind of girl to cheat on her boyfriend, but she also wasn't the kind of girl to just sleep with someone and run. being caught making a break for it made her blood run cold. She suddenly felt weak.

"You know..." Riku leaned back, using his arms to support his weight. A smirk formed on his lips. "You could've just asked if you wanted to borrow my clothes."

Namine sighed, rolling her eyes. Did he _have _to make a joke out of everything?

"_Sorry,_" she said sarcastically.

Riku threw back his head and laughed. "What're you doing?" He questioned, throwing his legs over the side of the bed and standing, stretching his arms once his feet were on the ground again.

Namine was so happy that he wasn't totally naked like she was just thirty seconds ago. He was wearing long, grey gym pants and no shirt. The way his incredibly toned chest looked when he lifted his arms into the air and stretched made her want to scream. Why did he have to be so freaking sexy? That would make this a hell of a lot easier.

"I..." Namine tried to come up with something, standing up straight and trying to look as calm as ever, like she wasn't about to just ditch him. "I have to get home... My dad's probably ripping his nails off by now."

"Oh?" Riku didn't seem to worried. Instead, he grinned, showing off those perfect teeth of his and folding his arms casually over his chest. "Could you explain to me why your wearing my clothes instead of yours before you leave?" He asked.

"I couldn't find them." Namine told, her cheeks heating up. This couldn't get any more embarrassing. What made it worse was that he was totally laid back and care free.

"Really?" He made a face and wiggled his eyebrows. He kneeled down next to his bed, the side she was one, and reached under and pulled out her shirt and skirt, all that stuff. He Handed it to her and laughed.

Namine felt like a retard when she grabbed her things from him. Why hadn't she thought of that? "Thanks," she said in a monotone, not bothering to look up at him. It was still proving to be rather hard to not look at him. Those lean, sexy abs... That irresistible smirk, his amazingly toned body, even his hair made her go nuts.

"Uh, are you okay?" Riku gave her a concerned look when he caught her staring.

"Fine," Namine turned away quickly, her face heating up. Riku pointed to where the bathroom was (so she could get dressed in her own clothes) and Namine dashed away, shutting the bathroom door and behind her and locking it, just in case. She leaned her back against the door and let out a loud, long, miserable sigh. She began ripping off his clothes and putting on her own, pilling the T-shirt over her chest and checking herself in the mirror quickly before she slipped off her sandals. Why did she have to get herself into this mess?

Before she left the room, though, she took a second to gawk at the way the bathroom looked. It literally looked like a tornado had blown through here. Clothes were scattered all over the floor, there was soap stuck to the counters and the bottom of the tub, the floor was greasy, all that disgusting stuff. She shuddered and turned away from it all, reaching for the door knob. The sooner she got out of this place and had a chance to forget the whole thing even happened, the better.

Just as she was unlocking the door, though, it flew open and there Riku stood on the other end. He leaned against the rim and stretched his arm over casually so it was blocking Namine's way out. He looked cool and gave her this look that made her legs feel like Jell-O. She froze, looking up into those gorgeous aquamarine eyes of his in shock.

"Are you sure..." He started, paused, and tilted his head at her, wiggling his eyebrows. "Are you sure you don't want to stay for coffee or something?"

_No _was what Namine wished she could say. But with that look on his face, it was hard to resist. Damn him for being so irresistible! "Uh... Sure?"

"Great!" He exclaimed, throwing his arms out to the side, letting her free. Namine stepped to the side after shutting the door, making sure they were a good enough distance away from each other. In case he felt like trapping her again. "This way," Riku told, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb before turning around and walking down the hall. Namine followed him cautiously. Namine suddenly felt like she was trapped in an Enrique Iglesias song; **You can **_run_**, you can **_hide_**, but you can't **_escape_** my love. **

Namine shook her head. She felt like he'd _never_ let her just go home.

And she didn't have much of a taste for coffee anyways.

They walked into a kitchen/dining room, where Riku pulled out a chair from under the table for her and proceeded to the counter, where he reached into a cabinet for two black mugs. She watched him and he hunched over, pouring water into the coffee machine, carefully setting everything into place and turning it on. Just the way Riku _moved_ made Namine's heart pound.

He could _seriously_ make a lot of money as an Abercrombie & Fitch model. Girls would drool over him. Not like they already didn't.

"Dark?" Riku asked, turning around and snapping Namine back to reality.

"Um," Namine played with her thumbs, lacing and un-lacing her fingers, "Okay."

She seriously needed to stop doing that. it was embarrassing when she was caught with her head floating around somewhere in space.

Riku smiled at her, which almost literally made her melt into a puddle, and then continued on making their coffee. Finally, he sat down at the small table across from her, setting the hot coffee mug in front of Namine and sipping on his own before he set it on the table and looked at her, that grin still spread across his face.

"So..." Riku started slowly, but was interrupted by Namine.

"A-about last night," She whispered, realizing that just getting it over with now would be best. Not for _him_, but for her, she guessed.

Riku raised en eyebrow, a quizzical look forming over his features. God damnit! He hot even when he was confused. There was no end to it!

"I... I was," Namine stuttered, having a hard time forcing the words from her mouth.

"Drunk?" Riku laughed, knowing exactly where this was going and not caring at all. Everything was so care-free in his world.

"_No..._" Namine mumbled, feeling annoyed. "...Close."

"Yeah," Riku laughed harder, "You were drunk..."

"I was not!" Namine almost screamed. She'd never been drunk before in her life, even with all the drinking with her friends at parties. She may have been just a little out-of-her-mind last night, but she was _not _drunk.

Riku reached over across the table and smiled at her playfully, poking her forehead. "Oh yes you were."

Namine rolled her eyes, sighing. "_Forget it_."

Riku leaned back again, laughing and lifting the black mug to his mouth again. "Alright, alright. I get it." He said, hushing himself. "You were saying?"

"Yeah," Namine started, feeling as nervous as ever, "remember when I said I had a boyfriend? I should probably-"

Riku smiled at her, not seeming disappointed, or mad, or anything that Namine expected. He still looked calm and relaxed, like he actually understood. Again, Namine was unwillingly wishing she didn't have a boyfriend. "So you just want to be friends?" He stretched his legs and rested his arm on the edge of the chair.

_Not exactly..._ But it worked. Namine suddenly felt at ease again, overjoyed that that was over with. Friends, she could live with. Even if she'd just rather them not talk at all. But, whatever, at least now she didn't seem like a total bitch. "If that's okay," Namine said, leaning over the table and staring down into the coffee mug for a second before sitting upright again.

"'Course." Riku chuckled. "Just tell me when you don't have a boyfriend anymore."

Namine's heart stopped and lodged itself into her throat. "_What_?" She asked, taken back.

"Kidding." Riku gave her an 'I-got-cha-good!' look.

Namine groaned. 2 more seconds of this and she might explode.

She quickly stood, getting a questioning glance from Riku. "I really have to go." She said, the words flowing out of her mouth so fast that she wasn't sure if Riku even got what she said.

"Um... Okay?"

Namine stood there for a second, not sure what to say, but then quickly turned and just left. Riku watched her walk out the door, his eyebrows raised. As soon as she disappeared around the corner, he turned over and looked out the window, waiting until she walked outside to tap the window and wave when he caught her attention. She gave him a weak, awkward grin and quickened her pace, walking down the street towards her own home.

Riku laughed, amused by the whole thing. Most people would have been weirded out or freaked, but not Riku; King of the careless.

**000**

Namine leaned against the wall of the hallway as soon as she got inside her house. She held a hand over her chest and felt her rapid heart beat calm a little. She was _more_ than relieved to be home. She raced down the hallway and took a left and down another hallway until she reached the end, where there was a door that she opened that had stairs leading down to the basement; her room for the summer. When her bedroom had been moved down here two years ago, she had completely redecorated it. The washing and drying machines were moved elsewhere, on another floor of the house, and she moved a think, soft, white carpet. The walls were painted with a light, sky blue and her blankets and pillows on the bed were dark blue. She had poster hung on almost every inch of her wall, and her dad had even hired a few guys to make her a walk-in closet. He bookcase rested next to her bed, incase she ever needed a quick book, and her T.V. was across the room next to the door that lead to her own bathroom. Another thing about the room was that the walls were almost completely sound proof, so she could have her T.V. or sterio on as loud as she pleased.

Just looking at her room made her think of Roxas. This time, though, instead of a warm-fuzzy feeling in her chest she felt ill. Guilty. Um loyal. Unreliable. Like a bitch. I'm pretty sure you get the picture by now.

She'd been dating Roxas for about three years now. Not like it had turned out to be the best relationship, but having him stay with her in California every summer always made up for all the horrible stuff he'd done throughout the year (at least to her it made up for it). two years ago when Namine remodeled the room, Roxas had been there to help her and her dad. She remembered how Roxas couldn't seem to get the carpet down right, and about their little "paint war" and how the paint didn't come out of her hair for, like, a week. She remembered the fight Roxas and her had had about it two, and the "making up."

She felt even more ill.

She threw herself down on her bed and bounced up and down twice before everything was still again. Her hands were sweaty and so was her forehead, she'd practically ran half a mile here once she was out of Riku's sight. She hoped she wouldn't run into him even once the rest of the summer. If she caught him in the wrong place at the wrong time again (Namine mad at her boyfriend, almost drunk, and Riku being the sexiest guy on earth and all). How dare he let her do this! She wasn't blaming her cheating on Riku, of course, he's even apologized when he'd kissed her the first time. Namine even told him it was okay. Then, to her, it _was._

Now it _isn't._

Steering clear of Riku would be a good idea.

She guessed that he always had girls attached to him like magnets, anyways. So, not like he'd really have the time to notice she was avoiding him.

_No more late-night parties for me, _Namine thought.

Suddenly, cutting odd her train of thought, her cell phone that was placed next to her alarm clock on the end table began vibrating and ringing to the tune of 'All The Small Things' By Blink 182. Namine had programmed that song to ring whenever Roxas called her. When they'd been in his car driving to another lame skateboarding thing, the song came on the radio and Roxas even sang to it after telling her the song reminded him of her. In the rare one-in-a-while that he actually said sweet things like that, she would melt right there on the spot.

She hesitated to pick up the phone, and nervously pressed it against her ear. "H-hello?" She asked, turning to her side and drawing circles with her fingers on the bed.

"Hey," Roxas greeted on the other line. "How's California?"

_A disaster..._

"Fine." Namine said slowly, sighing. "How about Destiny Island? Skateboarding going well?"

Roxas groaned. "I don't even want to talk about it."

Thoughts of Riku left her mind suddenly and her mind, finally, focused more on Roxas. "Huh? What happened."

"Again,_ I don't want to talk about it_." Roxas growled harshly, and Namine frowned. Not like he could see her. "Anyways, I'll be heading down to California to see you around mid-August."

"Really?" Namine asked, surprised. She didn't know if she should be excited or scared. God forbid Riku and Roxas_ ever_ meet.

"What?" Roxas asked, catching the uneasiness in her voice.

"It's nothing," Namine lied, turning over on her back and staring up at the ceiling.

"Well, anyways, I gotta go," Roxas told.

"Um," Namine made a face, a little curious as to why he had to leave so suddenly. "Okay..." She said before he hung up. Namine rolled her eyes and sighed, setting the phone next to her on the bed and stretching her arms, sitting up again. Her blonde hair fell over her shoulders and down her back sloppily, and Namine brushed back strands that fell in her face. Just as she was about to get up at brush it back, the phone began to ring again.

This time just a regular ring. Only a few people on her phone had special ones (Roxas, dad, mom, best friends, ect.).

"Hello?" Namine asked, making a note to turn the phone off when she hung up.

"Hey there," a voice on the other line laughed, "guess who!"

Namine swallowed. "How the _hell _did you get my phone number?"

"You gave it to me last night," Riku informed, "you don't remember? We were-"

"You're never going to leave me alone, are you?" Namine blurted out abruptly, interrupting his sentence.

He sounded taken back at first, but then he just laughed at her. "Nope," he answered simply.

Namine sighed miserably. He must _really_ enjoy bugging her.

"What're friends for?" Riku finished, still laughing.

"What do you want?" Namine asked, rushing to just get this over with. She could just hang up the phone if she wanted to, but something inside urged her not too. It was kinda a weird feeling.

"I was going meet a few friends at the cafe today. I was wondering if you wanted to come?" Riku sounded like he almost just expected her so say yes.

Namine felt like puking. Now that she couldn't see him, it was a little bit easier to back out. She was about to turn him down, until he continued on.

"Please?" he asked coaxingly. Even his voice was sexy. "Napoleons on me!"

Namine's stomach growled, and she looked down and glared at it. Napoleons had always been her favorite desert, despite that they were calorie loaded. She and Roxas would always go down and share one, at least three times a summer. it was kind of a tradition. "Alright," Namine gave in, her cravings getting the best of her. Just thinking and the pastry made her hungry.

Her stomach growled again.

"Great!" Riku explained, "See you around one?"

"Sure..." Namine took a deep breath, feeling hopeless.

They both hung up and Namine immediately turned her phone off, setting it down while she checked the time on her alarm clock. It was about 11:32 am. Namine lazily got to her feet and dragged herself to the bathroom where she took a shower, brushed her hair and teeth, and did her makeup.

She searched through her closet and found a light yellow summer dress that went down just above her knees, and cut off at her collar bone. She held it over herself in front of the mirror. She put it on and spun around once, happy with the outfit. She wasn't one to really care about what she wore in public, but for some reason she felt the need to dress up a little. She went back into the bathroom and curled her hair a little, then brushed it a little, making her hair look wavy.

After that she slipped on a pair of yellow sandals and headed back upstairs, checking the time again as she went. 12:23 pm.

It usually only took her ten minutes to walk down to the cafe, so she wasn't too worried about leaving yet. She walked into the kitchen, reached inside a cookie jar where her dad stashed extra money, and pulled out a few dollars just in case they needed it.

While she waited for the right time to leave, she reminded herself non-stop that she wasn't going there to see Riku. Or his friends. She was going to enjoy a nice, delicious Napoleon.

**000**

"Okay…" Namine froze when the doorbell rang and she'd opened her door to find Riku there. "How's you find my house?"

"You gave me your address yesterday, too," Riku informed with a smile, "you don't remember? Man, you must've _really_ been-"

Before Riku could finish his sentence, Namine pushed past him and shut the front door behind herself, walking down the steps from the porch and into the gravel of the driveway, where Riku's car was parked. Riku stared, giving her a quizzical brow.

"Well?" Namine asked miserably. The sooner she got this over with, the better.

"Right," Riku shook his head, "Right…" He walked over to his car and got in the drivers seat, waited for Namine to get in herself, and drove down the street. He took a few turns and pulled into the Café parking lot. He turned off the car and shoved the keys into his pocket. The two of them headed for the building and walked inside, Namine first, and found a table. Riku already started ordering the Napoleons while Namine searched about the room with her eyes for Riku's friends, who were surprisingly absent.

"Are they late or something?" Namine asked once the waiter walked away.

"Hmm?" Riku hummed.

"Your friends," Namine reminded.

"Oh!" Riku shook his head at himself and laughed. "Yeah, they'll be here soon."

Namine leaned back and played with her fork while she waited for something to happen, a little bit irritated that Riku's friends weren't here. She wouldn't have come in the first place if it would've just been herself and Riku. That would be trouble. If his friends didn't show up at all, she might explode.

10 minutes later, just as Namine began to panic, the waiter returned with the two pastries, setting them on the table and smiling sweetly at them before leaving again. Namine noticed as she did that a few people were watching them. Namine swallowed. Did they think they were a couple or something?

"What?" Riku asked, catching Namine's attention. "You okay?"

"Sorry," Namine straightened herself. She folded her arms on the table and gazed down at the treat in front of her in all its glory. Surprisingly, when she took her first bite, she didn't feel any better at all. This was the last place she wanted herself to be right now.

"Riku!" A voice suddenly boomed from the far end of the room. They both turned to look up whatever had caused the noise and Riku smiled from ear to ear, standing up to give the boy a high five while a girl about Namine's size with shoulder-length red hair sat next to Namine.

"Sorry about being so late," he boy apologized, rubbing the back of his neck, "heh heh, traffic…"

"S'okay," Riku reassured.

_No it's not… _Namine thought to herself, growling under her breath. Who knows what could have happened if she'd had to spend another second alone with 'Mr. I'm-going-to-seduce-you-again' over there. She didn't want to risk being coaxed into _you-know-what_ again. She already couldn't live with herself.

"Let me introduce you to Namine, guys!" Riku exclaimed, excitement in his features.

"I'm a girl…" The red-head hissed.

"Namine, this is Sora," Riku pointed to the boy standing next to him, who was just a few inches short than Riku was. His hair was a blondish/brownish color and was spiked in almost every direction possible, defying gravity. His eyes were an ocean blue and he dressed somewhat like Riku. "Sora, this is Namine." Riku then pointed to Namine.

"Nice to meat 'cha!" Sora held out his hand, shaking Namine's violently before letting go. Another thing about him—he had a lot of energy.

"Heh," Namine laughed awkwardly, rubbing her hand, "_yeah_…"

"Namine, this is Kairi." Riku pointing at the girl sitting next to her with the red hair. Her eyes were also blue but a bit darker and less bright. She was wearing a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a striped hoodie. Her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows and her arms were folded against her chest. The look on her face was just screaming the word 'hate.' "Kairi, this is Namine."

Kairi didn't do anything but grunt and stare for a second, before looking up at Riku and Sora, annoyed.

"So…" Sora started after a long, awkward silence. "Riku says you live on destiny Islands with him."

Namine simply nodded her head.

Riku sat down across from the girls, followed by Sora. They sat quietly for another second before Sora continued. "Kairi and I do, too."

"Ah…" Namine gave a somewhat interested look.

Kairi suddenly turned to Riku. "So, like, are you and Namine dating or something?"

Namine wasn't offended by the question at all, although it seemed like it. She winced once the words escaped Kairi's mouth and closed her eyes tight for a second.

"No." Riku laughed. He looked at Namine and grinned. "We're just _Friends_." He winked, "right Namine?"

Namine nearly palmed her forehead. _Here it goes again… _

**000 **

"Is Kairi emo or something?" Namine asked while Riku drove her home.

"No, she's just quiet," Riku explained, "she doesn't like to be noticed too much, too."

"I see…" Namine made a face. "What about Sora?"

Riku laughed. "I'm surprised Sora even talked at all! Sora and Kairi act the same on so many levels it's almost scary. They'd be the perfect couple, but," Riku grinned at Namine, "I think Kairi likes me."

_Who doesn't? _

"Oh."

Riku chuckled, turning his focus back onto the road. "Nah, she doesn't like me. I'm just kidding."

"You do that a lot…" Namine mumbled.

"Do you have any idea how long I've been trying to get those two together?" Riku asked, almost sounding a little upset. "But they're both so stubborn. It's like they're blind."

"Maybe they just don't like each other."

"Pfft."

"What?" Namine asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sora's told me a million times how much he wants-" He stopped himself and didn't say anything for a few seconds as he pulled into Namine's driveway and turned off the car, turning to face her. "He just _really_ likes her, okay?"

"Um…" Namine was a bit taken back with the sudden seriousness in the tone of his voice. "_Okay_?"

Riku smiled again. "Well, goodbye until later, I guess."

For a second their eyes locked and the air became a little thick. Namine's heart pounded against her chest as she just sat there for a minute, taking in that same look in his eyes from the night before. The look that just made her totally lose it. If he kept staring at her like that…

Namine shook her head.

"Yeah," Namine hopped out of his car as fast as she could, "bye."

Riku waved before driving away and disappearing around the corner. Namine headed for her bedroom, but just before she could reach for the door, her father stepped in front of her, staring down at her. He didn't even have to say anything; Namine already knew she was in trouble.

But what did she expect after being missing for a day and a half?

**000 **

Namine's alarm clock went of and she rolled over lazily to turn it off before sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She looked around the room, glad she was in her own bedroom this time, and quickly got up to change. She threw on a pair of light blue, jean shorts and a screen T. After she fixed her hair and brushed her teeth, she darted up stairs and into the kitchen for breakfast, following the sweet smell of pancakes with her nose. Every Saturday, her father would always get up early and make them breakfast; something her mom was always too busy to do.

"Morning sunshine!" Her father exclaimed when she'd walked into the room and took a seat at the table.

"Don't call me that…" Namine commanded, starting at her plate of pancakes with hunger.

Her father sat across from her with a cup full of coffee, trying to wake himself up as he relaxed for the few minutes before he had to leave for work. "Are they any good?" He asked.

"Uh huh," Namine mumbled with a mouth full. She swallowed and smiled at him. "Thanks."

"Not a problem." With that, he got up and finished his coffee, and grabbed his car keys. "See you tomorrow! I have to stay over night again," he informed, "I need a little extra money."

"Okay." Namine nodded and continued eating.

He left and she could hear his car pulling away and driving off towards his work building. As soon as she finished her breakfast, she headed for her room and pulled her cell phone off her desk. She dialed Roxas's number with bliss and waited until something picked up. Unfortunately, she had to leave a message.

"Um, Hi! It's Namine! Give me a call, okay? Love ya!"

She hung up and sighed. The image of Riku popped into her head again, and her wonderful morning with no thoughts of him was gone. She really hoped she wouldn't have to deal with him today.

Maybe she should go make some _other_ friends to keep her busy…

_**To be continued! **_

**A/N:** That's it for chapter two! Sorry my updates will be a while… Heh…

Review please:D


	3. Storm Of All Storms

**A/N: **Back with chapter 3 ;D I finally found some time for it. Again, sorry the updates are going to be slow for a bit.

**Disclaimer: ** _I don't think so_. _-__Waves finger around-_

_**Chapter 3**_

Namine had made an entire plan for the day before she even left the house. She figured she might as well think of a few things to keep her busy and, hopefully, out of Riku's way. She'd rather not have to deal with the insane guilt of her actions right now. She wanted to have a good day.

To start off, she went and got lunch at a cute little shack by the beach around 12:30. After, she took a walk down the boardwalk and browsed through various stores. She was beginning to wish she'd brought a little more money. Okay, _a lot_ more money. Namine was a shopaholic.

Around 4:00 she ended up on the beach, relaxing in the sand after she cooled off in the ocean. It was _at least_ 90 degrees out. She pulled out a book and just relaxed for a while, dreaming about the amazing tan she was about to get.

She finished the chapter she was on after an hour of laying in the sun and decided it was time to go grab some ice cream. She picked up her things and pulled a T-shit over her swimsuit before heading back up the beach. She stepped onto the sidewalk and walked down the street until she reached her favorite ice cream place; Cold Stone.

She entered the store and bought a vanilla cone, then left blissfully as she went at it. The cool taste made her sigh peacefully as she walked around town for a little while, stretching her legs.

Suddenly, her father called and she pulled out her cell phone and held it up to her ear. "Hello?" She asked, throwing away what was left of the waffle cone.

"Hey, it's me," her father informed on the other line, "we're running low on milk at home, mind going out and buying some? I figured you were in town right now anyways. I swear I'll pay you back."

Namine rolled her eyes. "No problem," she sighed. She hung up and threw the phone back into her bag, which hung over her shoulder and bumped against her hip as she walked.

She reached the grocery store and grabbed the milk for her father. She was walking to the check out stand when a familiar, silver haired guy caught her eye. She squeaked and covered her mouth, moving to hide behind a counter. She leaned over so she could get a good look at him as he talked to the cashier.

"Yeah," Riku said, "I'm looking for a girl about… This high," he held his hand up, "and she's blonde and has these wicked blue eyes. Seen her?"

Namine's face reddened when the cashier suddenly looked down at her and cocked an eyebrow. Namine shook her head from side to side violently and held her finger up to her mouth as her eyes begged him not to give her away.

"Hello?" Riku waved his hand in front of the guys face.

"Uh…" The cashier scratched his head and shrugged, "No, sorry."

Riku sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "S'okay." he said, sounding disappointed but okay with it. Namine took a short moment to admire how unbelievably sexy he looked, even more so than usual (which was really saying something),but snapped out of it in time enough to wobble out of the way as Riku passed by her, clueless that she was just a few feet away from him.

Namine realized how embarrassing she must look, hiding in the corner and got up as soon as Riku was out of sight. She dashed out of that place and back towards home as fast as she could, forgetting to buy the milk.

**000**

If Riku was already out in town looking for her, that means he already, most likely, checked her house. She might as well stay here the rest of the evening.

She searched through cabinets in the kitchen for something to eat for dinner, feeling quite picky. She'd totally forgotten about the milk, on purpose. There was no way she was going back into town if he was looking for her.

Suddenly she thought of something. _Why_ would he be looking for _her?_

She didn't really want to know.

Her phone began to vibrate in her back pocket and she flipped it open, happy to see that Roxas has texted her. She frowned, though, when she read the message.

_Hey, I decided I'd just stay in Destiny islands for the summer. I've never liked flying much anyways. Sorry, babe. _

The way he wrote it made it seem like he didn't care that he wouldn't see her for the next two months. But then again, he hardly ever showed emotion in the first place, how could she expect him to start now?

She texted him back.

_That sucks. See you in September, then, I guess. Don't forget to call me later. _

_Love __ya_

She also almost wrote _Quit calling me babe, it's annoying, _but left that out. She'd rather not risk pissing him off.

She turned off her phone and set it on the table in the dining room, deciding just to skip dinner for now. She sat in the second living room upstairs next to the window, watching random couples stroll down the street as cars buzzed by. She relaxed and took a deep breath, trying not to let anything get to her. For once, she'd just like to feel at peace. It seemed as though something was _always _going wrong.

She turned on the TV and watched an episode of _Room Raiders_ before nearly falling asleep and heading back downstairs to the main floor of her home.

As she passed the phone hanging on the wall it began to ring. She sighed miserably and picked it up. "_Yes_?" She groaned.

"It's just me." It was her father again. "Just reminding you about the milk."

Namine nearly palmed her forehead and raked her hand down her face. Was it _that_ important to him?

"Oh." Namine said blankly. "Thanks for the reminder."

"You got it, right?"

Namine rolled her eyes. Her dad was such a freak sometimes.

"Not exactly."

"Mmm…" Her father sounded a little irritated. "Well, pick it up before it gets to dark. "

"Can't you just grab it on your way home?"

"The stores are closed tomorrow, remember? I'm staying at work over night."

"Whatever, dad."

"Thanks," he said goodbye. She could picture him waving. "See you soon."

They both hung up at the same time and Namine leaned against the wall, ignoring the massive headache she had at the moment. Riku wasn't the kind of person to just give up when he wanted something, but she could hope he did.

**000**

Namine thought that, while she was there, she could grab a few other things as well. She bought cereal and pasta, extra milk (just in case), and a few spices they were running low on. She grabbed a granola bar for herself and set it all on the counter at the check out stand. The cahier added up the total cost (which was about 20 dollars) and waited for her to pay up while he loaded everything into plastic bags.

Namine rummaged through her bag for her wallet when she realized it was on the table next to her cell phone at home.

"Shit…" She mumbled to herself, beyond annoyed.

But, sure enough, before she could tell the cashier she couldn't pay, a toned, tan arm stretched out from behind her and payed for it himself. Namine swallowed hard and looked behind her, greeted by Riku's irresistible grin. She didn't know if she wanted to slap him or grope him at that point, so she did nether. Blast him for being so god damn hot!

"No need to thank me," he said, patting her on the shoulder.

It took all the strength in Namine's body to push his hand away. She felt extra week at that moment. She couldn't give in now, though. Not again.

She looked away from him and grabbed her bags, immediately making for the exit.

"Hey!" Riku chased after her. "I've been looking for you _all day_!" He exclaimed, his eyes showing more emotion that usual. He looked incredibly animated.

"Yeah…" Namine mumbled. _I know… _

"Where're you going?" He asked, trying to keep up with her fast-walking.

Namine didn't answer.

"Home?"

Namine nodded miserably.

"Mind if I come?" Riku asked, smiling from ear to ear. It was hard to resist.

"Ungh…" Namine groaned, letting her mouth hang open. "Whatever…"

"Jesus!" Riku snickered. "What crawled up your butt and died this morning?"

Namine rolled her eyes.

**000**

"_ohmygod__!" _Riku said all at once, stuffing his face full of brownies. "Your dad's a freakin' genius!"

Namine buried her face in her arms, yawning against her soft, red Hollister sweater. Riku'd been stuffing his face full of her dad's brownie's for two hours now, and she'd been forced to watch. But whatever, they needed to get rid of the fat-inducing sweets somehow, why not throw them all in Riku's bottomless gut? And besides, now Namine had a reason to not look at Riku. No matter _how_ attractive you were, it wasn't flattering when you stuffed your face like your life depended on it. Seriously. Not even Riku.

Namine looked up at the clock on the wall that read 9:01 pm. She ran her fingers through her blonde hair and sighed.

"Your dad must've had a lot of free time to learn how to make brownies this amazingly!" Riku croaked. "I'm never gonna get sick of these!"

Yeah… Namine's dad developed a lot of new, weird skills when he split up with her mom. He acted a lot more like a kid when he didn't have to worry about working, too. Her parents had never been the best match, anyways. She'd waited for years through screaming and hard times for them to finally separate. They weren't much of a family to begin with.

"I'm in heaven," Riku cooed.

Namine got up and left the room, heading for the hallway on her right.

"Hey!" Riku followed her, wiping his mouth with the end of his sleeve. His attractive, hypnotizing blue eyes beamed. "Where're you going?"

"My room." She answered. Riku continued to follow her all the way down to the basement.

"Whoa…" Riku stopped to admire it. "Well, it's cleaner than my room, I'll admit. I can't even see my floor!"

Namine rolled her eyes. She reached out to her side and turned the light on.

Riku threw himself on her bed and let out a long sigh. He laid there for a while, staring up at the ceiling as Namine watched him, half terrified. What the hell was he doing?

Suddenly Riku turned on his side and faced her. "Your bed could just a little more comfortable, though."

Namine sighed in relief, grabbing the remote and sat next to him. "Yeah, I know…" She pointed the remote at The TV and it came to life, the mix of colors filling the room.

Riku stared at her quizzically.

"My show's on." She informed.

"Oh."

Namine leaned against the wall and Riku sat up, scooting closer to her so that their legs were almost touching. He relaxed and stretched his legs out in front of him, lacing his fingers behind his head as Namine's show went on. Five minutes later and he was already begging her to change the channel.

"I can't_ stand_ these cheesy soap operas!" He complained. "Do we_ have_ to watch an hour of this?"

Namine didn't look at him. That way she could reject him. If she'd been looking at him, there would be no way that she could say no. She guessed that he had that effect on everyone. "Look, if you don't like it, go home."

Riku pretended to look hurt. "C'mon, please?"

"No." Namine focused so hard on the TV that her eyes began to burn. It was hard not to look at him.

"Can't you watch this later?"

"No." Namine lied. The same show was actually recording upstairs on her dads TiVo.

Riku leaned back and sighed deeply. "Fine. But if I watch this, I get to pick the movie."

"I never agreed to watch a movie with you."

"Yes you did."

"When did I do that?"

"Please?"

Namine took a deep, deep breath. "_Fine_…"

"Whoo!" Riku threw both his arms in the air in triumph.

Namine palmed her forehead. She really wished he'd stop tormenting her with his sexiness and just go away…

**000**

As soon as her show was over, Riku rummaged through her movies and decided that they were all crap. So, without even asking if he could, he dashed upstairs to pick a movie from her father's collection.

Namine followed him miserably upstairs.

"I can't find anything I haven't already watched." Riku huffed, continuing to search. What was with this new attitude of his?

Namine tried not to think about how sexy he sounded.

"We should just go to the movie theater instead," he suggested.

Namine looked at him as though he were an idiot. "Do I _look_ like I'm dressed to leave the house?"

"Okay, _god!_ Sorry." Riku shook his head. "If you ask me, you're lookin' pretty hot."

Namine blushed madly, to the point where she resembled a cherry. She turned around and forced herself to forget what he'd just said. It took all the strength in her body not to let him seduce her.

"What?" He asked, bewildered. He watched her awkwardly make her way to her room. "Just grab a freaking movie…"

Riku shrugged and closed his eyes, reaching into the pile of DVD's and pulled one out randomly.

**000**

"I _seriously_ think Namine and Riku should get together." Sora commented as he was driving Kairi home from her best friend's house. Her car had run out of gas so she called Sora for a ride, since Riku wasn't home to pick up his phone. Sora was happy to help out.

"Hn." Kairi grunted. She didn't really feel like talking.

"Riku won't admit it, but I can _tell_ he likes her. He just gets this look in his eyes," Sora coughed, "not like I noticed, though. Anyways, he says their "relationship" is just kind of a casual thing. I don't believe him."

"Hn." Kairi grunted.

"What's _your_ problem?" Sora cocked his eyebrow.

"Nothing," Kairi said calmly, which was unusual for her, "I just don't feel like talking about somebody else's business."

"Sorry."

"Whatever."

"I think we should come up with a way to get them together." Sora snickered evilly.

Kairi glared at him. "Did you even listen to what I just said?"

Sora ignored her question. "Seriously. Any ideas?"

Kairi sighed a deep, miserably sigh and leaned back into her seat. "_Fine."_ She breathed. "I'll help you. But if Riku catches you, I had nothing to do with it."

"Yeah!" Sora threw one of his fits in the air triumphantly. It almost hit the roof of his car. "Woo-ha!"

Kairi turned to him suddenly and made a face. Did he just _whoop_? "What the hell was that about?"

Sora shrugged, and then continued on. "We should come up with some secret name for our plan. Operation… Something."

Kairi rolled her eyes. "Can you be any more of an idiot?"

"C'mon, Kairi! Help me out here." Sora begged.

"Ungh." Kairi scowled. "Well, first, Operation just sounds gay."

"No it doesn't!" Sora complained.

Kairi shook her head at him. "It should be like… Project…"

"Project sounds gay." Sora interrupted her. She made to slap him but realized that'd probably end in a fatal car crash.

Suddenly, Kairi noticed out of the corner of her eye that a squirrel was crossing the road and Sora was darting right at it. "SORA!" She pointed. "Look out!"

Sora swerved his car out of the way automatically and looked back suddenly when he didn't hit it. "Hey!" He laughed. "I didn't hit it! Woo-ha!"

"Did you just _whoop_ again!?" Kairi glared at him. He couldn't be anymore pathetic. Then it came to her. "That's it! We'll call it _project woo-ha_!"

Sora laughed. "Works for me."

"Good."

**000**

Riku didn't seem to sure about the movie he picked at first, but halfway through he was almost literally glued to the screen. So much so that Namine couldn't see through his head. Not that she minded though… The view was nice.

She growled at herself and shook her head. _ You have a boyfriend, remember? _

Still, she couldn't stop her eyes from wandering. She sighed, wishing she could punch herself and not look psycho.

Suddenly, much to Riku's dismay and Namine's surprise, all power suddenly went out. Namine's TV snapped off and her light bulbs broke, and since she couldn't see any light shining through the crack of her door she figured it happened to the whole house.

"_NOOOOO_!" Riku got up and it sounded like he was smacking the TV.

"Hey! You'll break it!" Namine shouted. She could almost see his aquamarine eyes through the dark.

He tried to figure out where in the room she was. "Hey, Namine, you okay?"

"I'm fine." Namine rolled her eyes.

"We should go upstairs and see what's going on. Your room has no windows." Riku said, feeling around until he felt her arm. She twitched when they made skin-contact.

"I wish we could. The stairs are too steep and have no rail. We'll most likely fall off and crack our heads open if we even try." Namine informed. Now that she couldn't see him, it was a heak of a lot easier to talk to him.

"Well, _that's_ pleasant to think about." He actually laughed. Why was everything a freaking joke to him?

Namine ignored him.

"Seriously. If you don't want to go with me… I'll force you." Riku said, holding onto her arm firmly and forcing her up.

"If I die, I hope you burn in hell." Namine _humfed_

"That's not very nice." She could hear a little hurt in his voice, although it was hard to catch. He mostly sounded like his usual, happy-go-lucky self.

"It wasn't supposed to be."

As they made their way up the steep steps, keeping as close to the wall as possible, Namine actually started to believe him. What was she worrying so much about? But suddenly she tripped over a step and leaned back, nearly falling down the length (and taking Riku with her) of steps but Riku caught her and caught his balance just in time.

"_I told you_." Namine hissed. She felt a little stab of guilt just then. He probably just saved her life and all she had to say was 'I told you.'

"Sorry…"

With that, they continued on and, thankfully, made it all the way to the main floor of her home in one piece.

"See?" Riku told, folding his arms across his chest. Not like Namine could see anyways.

"Mm." Namine hummed, not paying much attention to him.

They slowly made their way to the door, feeling the walls and watching their step. As soon as Namine opened the front door, a blast of wind pushed against their faces and slammed the door against the wall.

"Holy shit!" Riku threw both his arms in front of his face, guarding it from the dirt and leaves flying through the air.

They stood there and just stared off into the storm, flinching when lighting struck the sky as it rained violently. Namine covered her ears when the thunder roared. "Whoa…" The wind was blowing so hard that it looked like it might knock the trees over.

Riku took a step back off Namine's porch and back into her home. He laughed a little. "Looks like I'm staying here tonight!"

_Good Lord…_

_**To Be Continued**_

**A/N: **Sorry I made everyone wait so long for so little! Heh…

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks go out to everyone reviewing! YOU ROCK!

BTW, guess what? My school's homecoming dance is tomorrow. I'm so psyched! xDD


	4. With Arms Wide Open

**A/N: **I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Yeah, I know. I'm slow with the updates. Life's busy.

**Disclaimer: **_We've established this. _

Oh, by the by, the story's not going to be longer than ten chapters. Maybe less. Just a heads-up :)

**_Chapter 4_**

_(Look__s like I'm staying here tonight__...Here tonight… tonight…tonight…)_

Riku's word repeated themselves inside Namine's head over and over again like a broken tape recorder. She couldn't shake them off. She weighted her options; she could kick Riku to face the stormy, violent weather or let him stay over.

The first option wasn't really an option for her. Naturally, she wasn't a mean person. She couldn't imagine doing that to anything. Did she_ want_ to kill him? Namine wouldn't admit it, but she was, somewhere in the back of her mind, hoping Riku would have a reason to stay over late anyways.

She shook her head violently, fighting to keep control over herself when she looked up at Riku's irresistible, sexy grin. Her favorite of all his expressions. Unfortunately, she couldn't look away.

"Is that absolutely necessary?" She asked, trying her hardest to sound irritable.

"Absolutely." Riku looked away from her, thankfully for Namine's sake, and pointed outside. "You wouldn't force me _out there_, would you?"

"No…"

Riku threw one arm around her shoulders and laughed wildly. "Exactly. Good thing we're _friends_." He said the word 'friends' while he locked his aquamarine eyes with Namine's blue ones, and winked seductively. Namine shuttered.

Namine shrugged Riku's arm off of her and shut the door slowly, hating herself.

No, hating life.

Everything was black again, and Namine felt along the wall until she got to the window in her living room. She opened every other window in the house while Riku followed her, hands stuffed in his pockets and whistling, letting the light from the moon somewhat light her house.

She dug through the closet next to the kitchen while Riku hovered over her, still whistling, and pulled out a few pillows and blankets; which she laid out in the brightest part of the house, very far apart. One set of blankets and pillows was on the couch while the other was all the way across the room and on the floor.

Namine sighed and put her hands on her hips, now turning to Riku (closing her eyes so she wouldn't really have to look at him) and pointed toward the floor where Riku's bed would be for the night.

He laughed, surprising Namine, and she opened her eyes without even thinking about it. Another thing about him; his laugh, _his voice_, was like velvet. Her face heated up just thinking about it. Wasn't there something _not _absolutely perfect about him? Anything?

Namine felt hopeless.

"Well, I guess that's fair." Riku took his place on the floor, and stretched before leaning against the wall instead of falling on his back. Namine felt somewhat guilty for making him sleep on the ground. Riku didn't seem to mind, though.

Namine looked away from him, breaking the lock that his mint-green eyes had on hers (and she was surprised she had the strength to do so). She lay across the couch, over the blankets, and just stared at the ceiling as silence, sweet silence, flooded the room for once.

She wondered what Roxas would be thinking if he knew what was going on between her and Mr. Irresistible over there in the corner of the room. She shivered at the thought. She imagined what it would be like if they actually _met._

Namine shook her head and muffled a sigh. She was going to give herself nightmares. Now facing the back of the couch, away from Riku, she closed her eyes and tried to relax.

"Tired?"

Namine was so caught off guard that she nearly fell off the couch backwards.

Riku had caught her, and she was now looking back up towards the ceiling, but Riku's head was in the way. He was hovering over her, and she hadn't even realized he'd gotten up.

Namine swallowed, and did her best to scowl at his gorgeous face. "Trying to give me a heart attack, or something?"

Riku chuckled. "It's not that late."

"I don't care."

"What am I supposed to do? Watch you sleep?"

Namine just stared at him. She was suddenly scared somehow… Would he try to do something while she was asleep? She doubted it, but there was a chance… And then she thought about pretending to sleep, just in case… but not because she was scared. She mentally slapped herself, disgusted.

"I noticed the fireplace."

Namine bit her tongue, and then shuttered in pain for a quick moment, hoping he didn't catch that, but he did. He was laughing at her now. "Yeah. The fireplace…" Namine tried to talk normally while her tongue ached. She shoed his face away with her hand so she could sit up. "What about it?"

Riku gave her a face.

"Oh." Namine narrowed her eyes. A half-glare was all she could manage. Strange, she never had a problem glaring at Roxas… Or any of her past boyfriends, for that matter. "You've _got_ to be kidding me."

Riku smiled at her, digging a box of matches out of his pocket. "There's already wood in it…"

"No." Namine said automatically, even though she honestly didn't want to deny him a fire.

She could just imagine it now… All those movies she's watched with her best friends back home with couples wrapped up in a blanket next to a warm fire right before…

Namine mentally slapped herself again. Time to focus.

"But it's so _cold_." He complained, faking a shiver for emphasis.

"No." Namine tried not to look him in the eye. That would just make it harder.

"_Please?_" Riku almost whispered, like he really meant it. His soft voice made the butterflies in her stomach bat their wings violently.

_Why me? _

"Fine." Namine gave in, thankful that Riku finally pulled away from her enough so that she couldn't feel his breath on her neck anymore. He was already lighting a fire when Namine looked in his direction.

Namine had no doubt that this would be an incredibly long night.

**000**

Namine hadn't really realized how cold it really was until the fire was blazing. Riku was absolutely right. Her fears relaxed and Namine wrapped herself in her blanket, smiling at the warmth. As soon as the fire was nice and strong, Riku seemed to forget Namine was there at all. That was the main reason why Namine could relax so much now. Riku hadn't moved from his spot in front on the fireplace for hours.

Namine sighed peacefully and hid half her face in the blanket, closing her eyes and resting into the cushions of the couch. This might've been the first time that she was in the same room as Riku and wasn't trying to avoid his sexyness. Honestly, she was too tired to care.

Finally, drifting off into dream land, everything went black.

**000**

Namine thought she was dreaming when her eyes fluttered open to meet the side of Riku's head. Mostly his gorgeous hair. His sweet breath tickled her neck, and she could feel his lips against her ear. He was on his knees against the couch, whispering something in her ear she couldn't quite understand. Hear. It was like waking up; how everything just kind of came to you slowly when you were still totally at peace. She had just began to be able to see right.

He brushed a piece of her hair back behind her ear, the tips of his fingers brushing softly against her cheek. He whispered in her ear again, but she still couldn't quite hear. It didn't matter though; Namine was enjoying Riku's presence just the same. Oddly, she didn't feel edgy at all. Just calm.

"Namine?" Riku's soft, alluring voice purred. Namine could hear him now, but just barely. Still thinking she was sleeping, she lifted her hand and ran her fingers through his hair, savoring the way his hair felt in-between her fingers. The tempting way Riku's lips curved into a smile against her skin made Namine sigh, willing for him to look her in the eye.

Namine's fingers slipped from Riku's hair when he tilted his head up towards hers and his minty eyes locked with hers. He smiled her favorite smile and leaned closer, until they were both breathing the same air.

Namine tensed then, but soon just relaxed.

If this was a dream, did it really matter if she kissed him? Would she feel guilty when she woke up?

Already too lost in the way Riku smelt, the strangely perfect combination of coffee and sweat, Namine could care less about later. She reached up for his cheek and caressed it, waiting.

He felt so _real_ for a dream. His skin was so warm when she pressed her full palm against his cheek, almost burning under her touch. He reached up and grabbed her hand then, his grin growing in size. Namine turned her hand around so it was holding his back, and she tightened her grip. What a wonderful dream this was turning out to be…

"You awake?" He asked, still whispering. She wasn't convinced that this was anything but a dream yet.

"Awake?" Namine questioned, lacing her fingers with his when he lowered their locked hands onto the cushion of the couch and he adjusted his body so that he was hovering over her a little.

He gave her a sort-of amused expression. He put his other hand next to Namine's face to keep himself upright. He let go of her hand and felt her forehead jokingly. "You alright?"

Namine ignored him and reached to take his hand back. Here she was, pretty much giving Riku permission to take her. Whether she was sleeping or not, this was a pretty big offer, after she'd sworn to never cheat on Roxas again in any way/shape/form.

"Mmm…" Riku pulled away a little. "You still look really tired. Sorry I woke you up."

Namine thought about what Riku said for a minute, and how real all of this felt, how she could now smell and feel everything. Everything suddenly came rushing up to smack her in the face. She _was _awake.

She was awake!

Namine almost screamed and pushed Riku away with all the force in her exhausted body. What the hell was she thinking?! She sat up and rubbed her eyes violently, and then glared at him. Surprisingly, it looked like she meant it.

Now as red as a cherry, her voice burned with anger. "What was _that_!?" Namine huffed. How many times had she told him that they _both_ needed to keep their hands off each other? She was trying _incredibly_ hard to keep to that, and _he_ was giving in?

Riku moved back a little more. "Uh… _You_ came onto _me_. I did nothing."

Namine gawked at him. "I woke up and you were almost _on_ me!"

"I was just seeing if you were awake."

"_Why_?"

"It's two in the afternoon."

Namine thought about that for a moment. She just realized all the light now flooding through the window. "Oh." She suddenly thought of her dad, walking into the room and seeing Riku lying on the floor. Was he home yet? Terrified, and stared at Riku in disbelief. "Why are you still _here_?"

Without waiting for him to answer, she scrambled to her feet and sprinted towards the winder. She sighed in relief when she saw that her fathers' car wasn't in the driveway. Riku was soon standing right behind her, leaning over her also to look out the window. "What're you looking for?"

She turned around to face him, ignoring how close their faces were again. "My _dad._"

"Oh…" Riku didn't quite know how to respond. If her dad knew he'd spent the night… He shuttered at the thought.

Suddenly, they both heard the crunching of gravel under moving tired in the front. Namine already knew it was her dad. The both quickly ducked out of the way of the window. "Get out, get out, _get__ out_!" Namine panicked, pushing Riku towards the back door. They moved quietly through the screen doors and off the deck, and were soon walking along the side of the house. Namine leaned over the edge with Riku behind her to make sure her dad had already gone inside. When he was nowhere to be seen, she pushed Riku in the direction of the street. "Go home." She ordered.

"But-"

"_Now._"

Riku rolled his eyes, and like usual, laughed. "Fine. But I'm going to call."

Namine ignored him and pushed again, and he was on his way towards the bus stop, laughing until he was too far away for Namine to hear.

Namine snuck back in through the back door again and walked into the living room, trying to look as casual as ever when she met her fathers gaze, standing in the middle of the room, examining the mess.

He stared at her expectantly. "Mind explaining?" He asked, holding his hands out to the blankets and pillows on the floor, and the ashes still in the fireplace. He looked almost worried, and she could understand why.

"Um…" Namine stalled. "Slumber party?"

Her father didn't seem to buy it at first, but shrugged, deciding that he really didn't want to know if it was anything but. As he walked by, towards the stairs leading up to his room, he smiled and ruffled his daughter's hair. "Well, clean up at least. Looks like a tornado blew through here."

"Yeah," Namine laughed nervously, "no problem."

Namine threw herself onto the couch when her father was gone, and heaved a deep sigh. She could almost still feel Riku's breath on her neck.

She shuttered at the thought of what might've happened if Riku kept his big mouth shut. She almost lost it again.

But then she was thinking about how angry she'd been at Riku when she realized she wasn't sleeping. She was surprised she was even capable of looking into those sexy eyes of his and screaming. And she meant it too. She didn't have to fake anything. Was she finally becoming some-what immune to his looks?

The more she thought about it, the more surprised at herself that she was. So, if she spent even more time with him, would she become more immune to him? Would she be able to really ignore him after another week or so of almost being glued to his side?

Interrupting her thoughts, her father was now standing in front of her with his cell phone. "Um… Roxas is on the phone…" Her father sounded a little confused. He took one more look at the messy room, eyed Namine, handed her the phone, and then was gone.

"Roxas?" Namine asked.

"Hey," he greeted on the other line, somehow not sounding normal. Namine was suddenly worried. Was something wrong? "How're you?"

"Um, great," she lied. Her heart was still pounding from the little situation this morning. Her face was still red. "You?"

"Mmm…Been better."

"So what's up?" Namine asked, trying to sound more enthused than she was.

"Nothing really."

"Why'd you call, then?"

"What? Am I not allowed to call my own _girlfriend_ without an excuse?"

"Sorry…"

There was a long pause. Namine could hear a door open and close on the other line, and a muffled voice in the background. She tried to listen closer but Roxas put his hand over the phone for a minute to talk to whoever was there.

"Namine?" he was back now.

"Hmm?" Namine asked, curious.

"I have to go."

"Where?"

"Work." He answered almost too fast. He sounded a little anxious to be off the phone.

"Riiiiight…" Namine raised her eyebrows. "Bye, than, I guess."

Riku had already hung up.

Namine stared at the phone for a while, but just shrugged. Unlike herself, she knew Roxas wasn't a liar. He _was_ a jerk, but he never lied to her before. And their conversations on the phone never lasted longer than that, anyways. He always preferred talking in person, but even then it was rare that they talked a lot. Namine never minded though… they did other than talking to make up for it anyways…

Namine leaned back into the couch and sighed, guilty again. Was she never going to let the whole sleeping-with-Riku thing go!? She couldn't remember, but she imagined she enjoyed it. Was this how she was going to treat her boyfriend? She felt horrible! She was half tempted to drive out to the beach and drown herself.

**000**

It almost killed Namine to look at herself in the mirror. She brushed her hair slowly, starring at herself as she did so. She almost looked like she was going to cry. Her eyes were glossed over and hurt to keep open.

Her lips curved down a little. She also looked really tired. The dark circles under her eyes were near-frightening. In short; she looked awful. No amount of make-up would help.

Riku had called earlier to invite her to Sora's house tonight. Sora had a house on the beach and was throwing a party like the one on the night she'd met Riku. She's agreed to go, and was expecting Riku to show up at her door in an hour or so.

While she was waiting and getting ready, she'd been thinking hard about what she was going to tell Riku at the party. This whole thing was ridiculous.

She had two options here.

Option one was telling Riku that she could never see him again, leave, and ignore him and his calls until he finally gave up. If he already didn't want anything to do with her ever again. With what she already knew she'd say to him, she doubted he'd still want to be around her.

Option two was too keep on hanging out with the most irresistible man she'd ever met and just hope everything would turn out the way it should. The easy route.

Something about his presence was just addicting. That's why she could never stay away from him too long. Staying away from him for, say, the rest of her stupid life would be… Well, she didn't quite know. That's what scared her so much to think about it. If all Riku was was just another good-looking Abercrombie & Fitch motel-worthy guy, it'd be way easier than it was now to push him away. No, there was something else to him that she couldn't quite put her finger on that was making it so hard to say goodbye. Something else was keeping her around him. Namine knew herself too well – she wouldn't just cheat on her boyfriend that she'd been dating for 2 years with anyone. She wouldn't risk everything for just anyone.

Namine moved from the bathroom to her room and began to dig through her closet for something to wear. Without really thinking too much about what she wanted to wear, she grabbed a pair of dark blue, low cut AE jeans and a plaid Hollister T-shirt. She slipped on a pair of sandals and put her hair up into a messy ponytail, and then put one more layer of mascara on before moving upstairs to wait for Riku to show up.

Before she could even reach the door, the doorbell rang. She answered the door and was greeted by Riku's wide grin. "Hey! Ready to go?" he asked, excited. Namine couldn't help but at least smile weakly. His mood was contagious. Another thing about him.

"Yeah…" Namine tried not to sigh, tried to hide her depression. But Riku wasn't fooled so easily. Unlike _most_ guys, he paid attention. Yet again, another thing about him.

Obviously, if Namine was sneaking around with another guy around Roxas's back willingly, there had to be a good reason why she was doing this. There_ had_ to be.

She still had more thinking to do.

While they were in the car on the way to Sora's house while the sky began to darken, she weighed the pros and cons of staying with Riku. She stared at the gap in-between her skinny legs and narrowed her eyes, suddenly feeling like crying again.

Was there so end to this? Was drama just unavoidable?

No matter _what_ she decided to do, she was going to suffer somehow.

**000**

Sora's house was so packed that it was almost hard to move. Music blasted from the speakers and people were going in and out of the house through the sliding screen doors to the backyard, where there was a barbeque and free liquor being handed out. Like most parties around here. People were sitting on the beach or inside dancing, and it seemed like everyone was having the times of their lives.

Everyone except Namine.

She picked at a plate of food Riku had gotten her without asking, sitting on the couch next to him while he chatted away with a crowd of his friends. Before he went into talk mode, he'd introduced each and every one of them to her.

What was she going to do with herself?

"Hey, I'm going to go outside…" She leaned over and whispered to Riku, who dropped what he was saying to smile at her.

"Cool." He stood and pulled her up onto her feet next to him, but she shook her head.

"_I'm_ going. You enjoy the party. I just need some fresh air. The music's so loud – I can't hear myself think." Namine explained while Riku un-willingly sat down.

Riku nodded, trying not to look disappointed. So far, he hadn't left her side since they'd shown up.

Namine squeezed past people and through the screen door, out into the back of the house. She walked through the sand and out closer to the ocean than most people had gone. There was a large group of tall boulders close enough to the ocean to where the water almost touched their smooth, dark edges. Namine sat on top of one of them, where there was a somewhat flat surface, and hugged her knees to her chest.

She had to pick what she was going to do_ now. _

There had to be another option. It's not like Namine could just forget about Riku, but there's no way she could continue to do there horrible things to Roxas, even if he didn't know what was going on. She'd just keep feeling worse ad worse. But if she tried to forget Riku, which would be impossible, she'd be just as miserable.

Buried her face in her knees.

_Why _was it so hard to just go with leaving Riku?

And it's not like she could call up Roxas and break up with him, after they'd been together for two years, for a guy that wouldn't ever be anything more than a _summer boy._

That's it.

Just a _summer boy._

And it hurt her like hell to think about it that was, but she was probably right. There were millions of girls out there more interesting and beautiful than herself, and as soon as they got back home, they'd continue living separate lives anyways. He'd be going to a different high school and forget about her.

But still, she couldn't let go of Riku. And she suddenly knew why.

She was in love with him.

**000**

Sora and Kairi found Riku without Namine, unfortunately. Sora suggested to Riku that he invite Namine (and Riku said that he would've invited her anyways) so they'd have a chance to hang out more. So Kairi and himself could push them together. _Project Woo-ha_ was officially on.

"So, Riku," Sora sat next to his best friend, sounding casual, "where's you're girlfriend?"

"Namine," Riku corrected.

Sora gave him a quizzical look.

Riku sighed, "She went outside somewhere. I don't really know."

"You didn't go with her?"

"She didn't want me to."

"Excuses."

"Since when did _you_ care?" Riku eyed him, folding his arms. The big crowd of his friends was disappearing slowly, and a few of them were still there, listening. They eventually left too, though, to dance or eat or whatever. Riku was almost alone when Sora came around.

"Hey," Sora put his hands up in a defensive manner, "just wondering."

"Sure." Riku rolled his eyes.

"How long has she been gone?"

"Would you quit it?"

"Sorry."

Sora looked around for Kairi, who'd gone off to go talk to Namine, wherever she was.

Riku seemed uneasy. He looked a lot of things at once, actually. Bored, anxious, nervous, eager, all of the above. The works.

"You okay?" Sora asked, waving a hand in front of Riku's face.

"Never been better." Riku sighed. "Look, why don't you go find Kairi or something? I'm leaving for a bit."

"But-"Sora stopped himself and watched Riku disappear into the crowd. He made a face, and suddenly Kairi was standing next to him. Riku was being unusually… Well, human. Riku always seemed happy-go-lucky and care free.

This was different.

**000**

Namine was almost to the point of crying. _Again. _

This was _hard. _She'd hardly realized she'd been sitting there fighting a war inside her head for two hours now. Why couldn't she just have Roxas _and_ Riku?

This was insane!

It was now obvious it was impossible for her to choose between the two. She'd just have to sit there until something clicked. Until something happened. Maybe Roxas would call her, break up with her, she's cry for a week, get over it, and could live happily every after with Riku until summer was over, and then it'd be all over. No more of this.

Suddenly, Riku was sitting next to her. He'd climbed up on the rocks almost completely silent, and was not sitting so close to her that their legs were almost touching. Yeah, not helping.

"You okay?" He asked, and she could hear the concern in his voice.

"Never been better."

"I think your lying."

Namine didn't say anything. She buried her head in her knees again, sighing, and Riku's arm was soon around her shoulders. She shrugged it off. "Please don't. _Boyfriend_, remember?"

"Hn." Riku hummed. "Seriously, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"That's not going to get you _anywhere_."

Namine looked at him and sighed. She wanted so bad to reach out and hug him, but frowned instead.

Riku raised his eyebrows, waiting.

"I…" Namine stopped herself.

Just then, Namine's pocket began vibrating. She pulled out her cell phone but Riku took it from her before she could even see who called. "Hey!" She tried to take it back, but Riku just held her away from it. While he was pushing her away, he looked at The Called ID and froze long enough for Namine to finally get her phone back.

Riku just stared at her as she flipped the phone open and held it to her ear. "Roxas?" She asked, but Riku took the phone from her again.

"_You_…" He scowled; something Namine had never seen him do before. "From now on, you're leaving Namine alone. Got it?" He hung up the phone and tossed it back onto the sand behind them. It wasn't harmed, but Namine was freaking out.

"How could you do that!?" Namine tried to jump off the rocks after her phone to call Roxas back, but Riku held her in place.

"You're dating _that_ Roxas?" Riku knew Namine's boyfriends name, but had no idea just _who_ she was talking about.

Namine suddenly felt sick. "You _know_ him?"

"Uh, yeah. We're _related._" Riku stared at her.

Namine covered her mouth, the sick feeling in her stomach intensifying ten fold. Was that even _possible?_

She didn't say anything, and Riku's features relaxed a little. He looked more upset now than angry. Pained, almost. "You have no idea how sorry I feel for you." He looked truly concerned about Namine, and reached for her hand. "_That's_ my competition?"

_Competition? _Namine gawked at him. "You're _sorry_ for me?"

"Do you have any idea what he says behind your back? I knew he had a girlfriend but I didn't know it was _you_." Riku shook his head. "You don't deserve that. Yeah, yeah, he's my cousin, but _God_, Namine. You sure know how to pick them. He's a jerk."

Namine didn't know what to say, so she didn't stay anything. She still wished she could get her phone to call Roxas back. What was he thinking right now? _Namine's cheating on me! The bitch!_

She felt even _sicker_. Could it get any worse? Everything was piling up so fast, she felt like she might _barf._

"Look- before, when you said I should lay off because you had a boyfriend, I understood. Now, I'm going to show you what it's really like to have someone care about you like he _should._"

"What?" Namine asked, scared. Her head was spinning, she was so confused. _What was going on?_

"I'm going to fight until you're _mine_, Namine. I'm not giving up anymore. You're too special, and don't deserve to be treated the way Roxas treats you. I'm going to be persistent, anything to get you to see. You don't need him. I'm going to make you pick me. And when you finally realize what an idiot you are for being with _him_," Riku growled at that last word, "Well, my arms already wide open for you."

Okay. Wait, wait, wait, wait, _wait_

Did he just say that he was going to make _her_ fall for _him_?

"Huh?" was all she managed to get out.

Riku relaxed then, glad he was finished. He saw how sick Namine looked, and was suddenly concerned. "Hey, you okay? You're kinda turning green…"

"Ungh…" Namine groaned, and fell to the side a little. Riku caught her and held her upright, studying her face closely.

"Okay…" Riku sighed. "We'll talk about this later… I guess. You should get home… Or to the hospital…"

Riku helped her to her feet when they were off the rocks and grabbed her phone. He shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around Namine's shoulders, and then placed one arm around her waist to help her up the steps of the deck and towards the back door of the house.

Namine's urge to turn over and hurl was even stronger now. She never knew just _how much_ of an affect the drama had had on her lately. She was _beyond_ ill.

Okay… So her worst fear just came true. Roxas and Riku not only knew each other, but they were _related._ Also, Riku's not going to avoid giving in now. He was going to be on her _all the time._ Which wouldn't exactly help her whole 'I'm-trying-not-to-cheat-on-my-boyfriend' thing. She still had to pick between the two guys and her head _hurt like hell._

She struggled to break free from Riku's grip, ran across the deck, leaned over the railing, and heaved.

_**To Be Continued**_

**A/N: **Okay, hope that was worth the wait. I know; Busy, busy, busy.

Yeah, the drama pretty much starts here.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Leave a review and I'll get back to you!


	5. Walking In The Wrong Direction

**A/N: **Hey. An update.

**Disclaimer: **_Seriously, you have the wrong person._

_**Chapter 5**_

Namine was happy to wake up in her own bed. Okay, not really. Her head was throbbing. The room was dark and quiet. It would've been peaceful if she wasn't in so much pain. She could hardly remember the night before. She only remembered the important stuff. Riku's vow, the near destruction of her cell phone. She'd be making a call to Roxas today to apologize for Riku. But maybe it had all been just a dream. A really bad dream.

She sat up slowly, rubbing her forehead as she tried to look around the dark room. She couldn't even see her hand in front of her face. She turned over and reached out for her end table to grab her phone. Thankfully, it was there. She flipped it open to check for any missed calls or texted but had none. Wouldn't Roxas want to call back or _something_? Was he concerned _at all_? She sighed and lay back down. Maybe it _was_ just a dream.

Snapping her back to reality, the light flickered on suddenly. She immediately shielded the light with her hands and buried her head in her pillow. "_Dad_." She mumbled, irritated. Her messy blonde hair covered her face as she squeezed her eyes shut, clutching the pillow.

"You're dad left to work an hour ago."

Namine's heart sank. That wasn't the voice she wanted to hear. Not at all. "Don't you have anything better to do?" She asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and sitting up again to look at the boy sitting on the bottom steps of the stairs. He half-smiled and stood up, making his way over to her.

"Hey, you're awake. I thought you died or something." He joked. "You passed out so bad yesterday."

Bye bye dream theory. "Have you been here all night?" Namine asked when he sat on the edge of the bed. She forced herself to scoot away from him, as much as it pained her. He was even more gorgeous under her dim bedroom light. And then she made a face. Her dad wasn't home. And they were alone. In her bedroom. How many times was this going to happen to her? Is someone trying to tell her something?

"Yeah," Riku said, resting his arms on his knees.

"Why?"

"I didn't want to leave you." Riku smiled at her. It seemed to be frozen on his face for all eternity. Not that Namine really minded. "Is it so bad that I was worried about you?"

"U-um…" Namine swallowed. God, those eyes… She was dizzy just being near him. She forgot about her headache. "No…"

Riku stared at her for a long time, his minty green eyes focused on her blue ones. He seemed to concentrate very hard on them before he stood again, sighing. "Are you okay?" He asked, holding out a hand for her. She took it without arguing, giving in. Suddenly he pulled her close to him and wouldn't let go, his grip just tight enough. Namine figured there was no point in resisting. It wouldn't work. "I meant what I said yesterday." He whispered, his lips brushing against her ear softly. Namine swallowed. He let her go then, and sat back down.

Namine tried to pretend like she hadn't been to close to him. Like she couldn't still feel his breath against her neck. She realized then that she was still wearing the clothes from the night before. She made a face. Distracted for a short moment, she walked into her walked in closet and turned on the light, shutting the door behind her. As soon as she was dressed differently and her hair was brushed, she looked at herself in the mirror for a moment before stepping out.

Riku didn't look at her when he spoke this time. He was looking at her cell phone. "He doesn't care about you." He took the cell phone before Namine could reach it. He sighed. "Not like I do."

Time had passed so fast since Namine had met Riku. A month had flown by, so it seemed. Even though many times it seemed like the seconds were killing her. The sooner summer was over, the better. There was too much temptation with Riku around as much as he was. She knew what the right thing to do was. She was going to prove to herself that she wasn't a horrible person. No matter _what_ she had to resist.

"And you would know?" Namine folded her arms, giving up on the cell phone. He wasn't going to give it to her.

He looked at her then, his eyes surprisingly serious. "Yes. I would know."

Namine had had about enough of this. She took her cell phone from Riku and threw it into her bag, flung her bag over her shoulder, and began walking up the stairs. She needed to be alone for once. She needed to think.

Riku stared at her quizzically. "Where're you going?" he asked, concerned.

Namine looked over her shoulder at him. "Please don't follow me." And with that she was gone, grabbing the keys to the house and walking through the front door. She wasn't concerned abut Riku; he'd leave eventually.

Riku didn't follow her this time.

She held onto her bag tightly and headed for the beach, which was nearly clear. It was almost sundown, how long had she been asleep?

She walked down the street slowly, watching her feet. She didn't care that her hair looked like crap of she forgot about her makeup, or that nothing she was wearing matched, or that there were purple rings under her eyes. She didn't care that she was cheating on her boyfriend, resisting the person she wanted the most, proving herself to be a horrible person, and screwing up her life. No, not like she cared at all. Her head hurt even worse. She felt ill again, trying to ignore the water building up in her eyes.

She threw herself into the sand close to the salty water and pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her head. She felt like such a brat. Why was this so god damn hard? Why couldn't she just choose to be a good person and forget about Riku? Why couldn't she just dump Roxas like the jerk he is and go on living happily with Riku? Why couldn't she just have _both_?

Her summer was a disaster. California was a disaster. Her life was a disaster. And she had nobody to talk to about it. She had to do this on her own. It sucked that no matter _what _she decided to do; she was going to feel horrible in some way or another. No matter what she did, she was going to lose _someone_. _Someone_ was going to get hurt.

Namine shook her head and looked up, staring out into the horizon. The orange and pink mixed with the blue was absolutely stunning. Namine closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind and just relax. This might be the last chance she got. She took a deep breath and let the wind blow through her hair in a peaceful way, letting the silence calm her.

That's what she needed to do. She needed to calm down. Otherwise, she'd never make a solid decision and this would be twice as hard. She needed to stay relaxed. She opened her eyes, which were still glazed over, and thought about what she wanted to do. What she _had _to do.

An image of a road popped into her mind just then. A long, deserted, seemingly endless highway. She blinked, and shook her head, and the sudden picture faded away.

"I think I'm going insane," she thought out loud. First, she thinks too much, and then gets emotional about it, ends up getting sick from it, and now random images were popping up out of nowhere. What was she doing with her life?

Suddenly her phone vibrated in her pocket. She checked the caller ID and was relieved to find that it was just her father. "Dad?"

"You scared the shit out of me yesterday," her father started, sounding like he was ready to give her another one of his two-hour lectures right then and there on the phone, "where are you? You're supposed to be in bed. I came home and you were gone."

"I'm-," Namine paused. "I just went on a walk."

"Well hurry up on home," she could hear her father inhale, exhale, and then sigh, "we need to talk."

"R-right." Namine nodded. Of course he wanted to know what happened the night before. He was probably going to going to accuse her of being totally wasted (but then again, alcohol might've been a _tiny_ part of the problem) and then babble on and on about how drinking was bad and how she was losing too many brain cells. As soon as Namine hung up, her phone vibrated again. She flipped it open to see she'd gotten a text from Roxas. She sighed and opened it.

**Hey. Your father told me about the other night. Funny shit. **

Namine frowned, typing away on her cell phone. What was his problem?

**No. Not funny. **

As soon as Namine pressed the "send" button, it hit her. What if he knew she was at the party with Riku? Was he mad?

**Sorry. Get well soon. I guess.**

Namine sighed with relief. Her father had probably left that little detail out. Roxas, for the most part, was clueless.

**Thanks. **_**I guess. **_

Namine turned off her phone then. She stared at it for a long time, thinking. Roxas had probably forgotten about the sudden hang up, thanks to Riku, from the other night. Maybe not. Ether way, he didn't seem peeved.

She stood up then, brushing herself off and rubbing her eyes. Maybe she should just wait for the answer to come to her itself. Maybe everything would just work out the way it's supposed to. There was no way she was going to be able to do this on her own.

She was back home in about twenty minutes, finding her father on the couch. He had been waiting for her. She sighed and sat down in a chair across from him. He had his arms rested on his knees while he just stared at her for what seemed like forever.

"First, I'm just going to say that I've given you a warning about the partying. If it happens again," Her father looked uncomfortable, "well, you know. What I'm really concerned about is your… Um… _Relationship _with Riku."

Oh boy. Namine hadn't expected this (nor did she need it – as if she weren't depressed enough). "Dad, that's not even-"

"Don't worry, I didn't tell Roxas about Riku when I called to tell him about your condition. I'm not saying you and Riku are, uh, _together.__" _

"Dad, you've got it all wro-"

"Don't interrupt me." Her father looked so serious. It was almost scary. He'd always admired Roxas, for some reason. And over the past few summers they'd watch football together and all that guy stuff, so he really respected him. Namine could understand why her father might be suspicious, but this was just ridiculous. This wasn't at all his business. "You've been spending so much time with that boy – don't accuse me of being wrong. And I'm only concerned abut you, and Roxas. That boy really adores you, you know."

Namine wished she could believe that. She really did.

Her father continued, "I wasn't very suspicious about that Riku boy until last night. I met him at the hospital, in the room they had you in. They said it was okay for you to go home, and I told Riku that it was okay for him to go now, but he insisted on staying. That was a little-"

"Dad." I stopped him. "We're just friends."

Her father didn't stop to think that maybe he was over-analyzing. "And I could see why you might spend so much time with him in the first place. Good looks, funny – "

Namine knew exactly where he was going with this. "Riku's not like that! I mean-" she started to get nervous now, "he is good-looking, I mean -_I guess_, but we're just friends. I swear."

"But anyways," he was ignoring every word that came from his daughters mouth, "since you have to so time and nothing to do with it, I took it upon myself to-"

"_Dad," _Namine glared at him. She was officially confused. Sure, her dad was concerned, but this was ridiculous. He wasn't making sense. He wasn't like those parents who go around prying at their kid's business, not at all. But then again, she could hardly remember any of the times in the past two weeks that Riku _wasn't_ in the same room as her, and Namine's dad _did_ think of Roxas as family.

Namine sighed, and let her father continue. "I got you a job," he said finally, seeming completely serious – and a little nervous.

"What?" Namine made a face.

"You start work Monday at The Palm Tree as a waitress." Her father stood, making a move towards the stairs, looking like he thought Namine would throw a fit or something.

Namine thought about it for approximately two seconds. This wasn't so bad. She could think of worse. He might be helping her, actually. She tried to sound disappointed for her father. "Oh. This sucks."

"See to it that you spend your time… wisely…" And then he was gone.

Namine didn't move, continuing to think. The more she thought about it, the more she liked it. If Riku didn't figure out where she worked, she'd have plenty of time away from him to think about what she wanted to do if the answer didn't shove itself in her face first, like she was hoping it would. And she didn't mind The Palm tree. It was actually a cute little restaurant up on higher ground and had an amazing view of the ocean. It was, actually, one of her favorite places to work. And all the people were nice. Maybe this was what she needed.

She leaned back in the chair and sighed, pushing that thought aside. So, now her father was looking down on her. As if she wasn't hard enough on herself.

Namine missed feeling happy. She thought about all the stuff that could make her happy, no mater what and came up with only one answer: Music. She got on her feet and began heading for her room. She decided then that she'd lock her door and blast her favorite CD.

She did so; shutting and locking the door behind herself as she stood at the top of the stairs that lead down to the basement that was her room. She walked down the stairs carefully, and then dug through her collection of CD's until she found what she was looking for. As soon as the CD was in her stereo and ready to be blasted, she skipped to the 2nd track and turned up the volume as high as it would go.

It started to play and she felt a rush of excitement go through her. Nothing could distract her like music. It was time to just shove aside her soap opera of a life for now.

**You know you ****wanna**** just let go **

**It's time to roll down the windows **

**And sing it oh ****oh****oh**

**We got all we need so here we go **

**Turn it up **

She let the music move her body almost like it had the first night she was here at that party. She smiled for once and felt peace locked inside her room as she bounced around, caught up in the lyrics.

For this small little moment of happiness in her current mess-of-a-life, she could just be herself. There was no one there to frown at her, no one who needed to call her (and her cell was turned off anyways), and no need to get all caught up about her un-resolved problem.

The music flowed through her and she sang along, loving every minute. She hadn't enjoyed a good song for weeks now. The curing effect it had on her was thrilling. She never wanted it to end. She kept on dancing and dancing, even when she probably should've found a place to sit and catch her breath. She was never going to stop, not until she had to.

She re-played the same song over and over again, ignoring her fathers knock on the door and faint shrieks telling her to cut it out and turn it down. He'd go away, eventually. He didn't matter right now. Nothing but her music mattered.

Time flew by and an hour passed, and then another. When she couldn't dance anymore, she simply laid on her bed and stared at the ceiling, still concentrating on the lyrics and the fun beat of the song. She closed her eyes and smiled, finally happy to be where she was.

She looked at the clock while the music still played, but not so loud now, and was surprised. How had almost three hours passed already? Was she losing her mind?

Maybe. She didn't really care.

She felt like she was in her own little world. How could she have forgotten about her music and the effect it had on her? This would've been so nice if she had remembered it earlier.

She got up again, moving towards her closet to find something to sleep in while the song, the same one, was about to end and restart itself again.

**At five minutes to midnight **

**We'll see our name in city lights **

**We'll make the clock stop **

**Make your heart drop (and come alive) **

She turned it off then, too exhausted. She opened the door to her walk in closet and switched the light on, ready to dig through her stuff. She was hopping she could find that new pair of soft cotton Abercrombie & Fitch pants she just bought a few days ago.

She found what she was looking for and a plain white shirt to go with it. Now warm and comfortable, she looked in her long mirror like she always did almost instinctively. She was about to turn of the light and crawl into bed when she heard the faint sound of breathing that wasn't hers. She held her breath to make sure.

She swallowed, and followed the sound. Something – someone was in her closet with her. She grabbed her cell phone and turned it on quickly, just in case she'd need to call 911. She got on her knees and crawled deeper into her closet, listening as the noise grew louder slowly. It was getting harder to hear though, what with her heart beating out of her chest.

She stopped at the end where a bunch of clothing was hung on hangers and boxes of this and that laid on the floor. She pushed some of the clothes and boxes out of the way to find Riku, fast asleep. She dropped her cell phone.

Riku flinched then, slowly waking up from the noise the cell phone made when it hit the floor right next to his ear. If he was able to sleep through all that music, why was he waking up now?

"Mmm." He hummed, stretching his legs on the floor.

"Hey, you," Namine made a face at him. She didn't have enough energy left in her to sound angry. "_What do you think you're doing_?"

Riku actually thought about it for a moment. "Sleeping?"

"Be serious, please."

"I didn't know you'd be gone so long, so I stayed. And then your father came home." He yawned. "Your closet is a _great_ hiding spot, you know."

"You're ridiculous." Namine rolled her eyes.

"I had to tell you something," Riku paused, "or ask you something… I can't remember right now. It was important."

Namine shook her head at him. "If it was important, you would remember it."

"Look, I'm too tired, okay? I'll remember when I'm actually conscious." Riku shook his head right back at her.

There was a long silence. Namine usually would be angry or stressed, and totally infatuated at the same time, when Riku was around. She still felt the butterflies in her stomach and her heart beat, but wasn't feeling anything else. Maybe _she_ was too tired.

"I think you should go home." Namine said, trying to wake up a little more, and it wasn't working. She was about to fall over and start snoring.

Riku looked disappointed, and the look in his gorgeous aquamarine eyes made her wish she just hadn't said anything.

"I-I mean, why stay here?" Namine felt like an idiot. "What if my dad finds you? Don't you want to sleep in your own bed? I-"

"Don't make me leave." Riku said softly, calm. His eyes locked with her, and this time she couldn't rip hers away from his. Still too tired to feel scared that she was leaning closer to him, she didn't stop it. "Please."

Namine could feel his sweet breath on her face, now. Her eyes fluttered half-closed. "Okay," she barely managed to spit out. She knew she was giving in. She knew he wouldn't stop to think twice about kissing her.

And then her conscience was screaming at her. She leaned away from him quickly, thinking of Roxas (and her dad) and felt horribly guilty again. She got to her feet and left Riku there, and walked away from him slowly.

"Goodnight," she could almost hear him say. She bit her bottom lip and folded her arms, stopping to stand by her bed. She felt those same tears from earlier coming on, and she fought them. Now wasn't the time. Now, she was going to sleep.

She crawled into bed and buried her head in her pillow, quickly drifting off into sleep. She needed it – Monday was tomorrow. Her first day of work.

**000**

Namine knew she was in the middle of a dream. That same picture that had popped into her head on the beach was there. She saw herself on a long, endless, deserted road. It looked lonely and not very promising. Almost scary. She watched herself as she hesitated to walk forward. Every step she took forward, she took another step back and turned the other way, facing the other direction of this one-way road and trying again only to fail once more.

Namine didn't get it. She had heard before that dreams are supposed to tell you something, but she couldn't get the message being sent to her right now.

And slowly, the dream faded away.

**000**

When Namine woke up, she checked for Riku and he was gone. She found her cell phone still lying on the floor and picked it up. She checked the time, realizing she had to be at work in two hours. She panicked.

She slipped into a skirt and a grey Hollister T-shirt, putting on sandals and spending the majority of her time on taming her hair. With an hour left, she made herself a piece of toast and threw a light sweater over her shoulder, putting her cell phone in her pocket.

She rushed through her front door only to find Riku's car in the driveway with him in it. She swallowed and caught her breath.

"I thought you might need a ride."

Great. He figured it out. Just what she needed.

"No thanks."

"You'll be late."

Namine paused. She checked the time on her cell phone again. He was right.

"Fine," she gave in and jumped into his car.

She was at work on time, and surprisingly, Riku didn't look like he was going to follow her in. He looked up at her as she got out of the car and stared at him. "I'll see you later. Have fun." And then he was gone. _Have fun? _Always joking around…

Namine thought about his irresistibly sexy grin, which he flashed her right before he drove off. She tried to shake the thought out of her head so she could focus.

"Namine!" Someone un-familiar called her name. He was holding an apron or something like that. "Welcome to The Palm Tree." He handed her whatever was in his hands, waiting for her to put it on over her shirt. "It's pretty slow right now, so your first day here should be easy." He walked her though everything then, showed her where her tables were, and helped her take her first couple or orders (which probably wasn't necessary).

She was getting the hang of it after a while. This was a pretty relaxing job, actually. By the time it was break, though, Riku and Roxas were filling her mind again. She needed to avoid moment where she had nothing to do, because that's usually when all the drama filled her head.

She sat down outside, staring out over the horizon. The ocean shinned in all it's brilliance. She couldn't find herself enjoying it, though.

She needed to tell somebody what was going on. Anybody. It just wasn't worth going through alone. And then she thought of her mother. She called her, and thankfully, she picked up the phone. She went though everything so quickly while her mother listened, and was somehow finished while it was still her break.

Her mother thought about it all for a moment, taking it in. Namine was glad to know that she understood what she was going through. "Wow." Was all she said at first.

"I know." Namine sighed. She'd even told her mother about that weird dream of hers.

"Well, all I can say, I guess," he mother paused, thinking. "As far as deciding between Roxas and Riku goes," she paused again. "Do what's best for _you_."

Namine waited.

"Sometimes a person _needs _to be selfish."

_**To Be Continued**_

**A/N: **I hope you enjoyed it!

The Palm Tree. I made that up, to let you know. And the song Namine was listening to – it's "Five minutes to midnight" by Boys Like Girls. I do the same thing when that song is playing. Haha.

Review if you like.


	6. Giving Into Temptation

**A/N: **Guess what? I updated.

**Disclaimer: **_I'd like to roundhouse kick the disclaimer in its face. __(Kidding.)_

Okay, warning, this chapter is kind of all over the place. Chapter 7 will be great, I swear.

_**Chapter 6**_

Namine didn't want to listen to her mom, though she could've been right. She continued to wait another week and a half, waiting for the answer to fly up and smack her in the face on its own. So far, no luck. Riku continued to hang around, sometimes waiting outside The Palm Tree for her shift to end, sometimes eating breakfast in her section of the restaurant so she'd have to serve him. She usually was able to switch sections with Jenny, another waitress, though. She wasn't about to give into temptation. Not yet.

Namine was standing in her closet, standing in front of the mirror. She was dressed in the restaurant uniform, and it was about 7:22 am. Her hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail, because that was one of the stupid rules. The manager was obsessed with keeping people's hair out of people's food. Namine understood, though.

Namine's father had talked with the manager after her first day of work and convinced him to switch Namine from the night shift to the earliest shift possible. That meant getting up at 6 am every morning. Yet again, another part of Namine's '_punishment_.' What he didn't understand, though, was that this gave Riku the rest of the day when she wasn't working to bother her.

Namine tilted her head to the side, still gazing off into the mirror. No, she didn't consider Riku bothersome anymore. She never did. But she _did_ wish that he wasn't so god damn hot. That made everything difficult, though, Riku's charm was hard to work with too. Everything about him just… _Glowed_.

Namine sighed and grabbed her bus pass, ready to refuse another ride from Riku. As she walked upstairs and passed the kitchen, the date on the calendar caught her eye. _August 10__th_Namine whimpered. Pretty soon, it wouldn't matter who she picked. In about twenty days, Riku would be gone forever. Just like all Summer Boys.

**000**

Riku grabbed the keys to his car, shoving a piece of toast into his mouth as he sprinted for the door. Sora watched him, very un-impressed. He was sitting on the couch while Riku struggled to get his shirt on with the toast in his mouth, his hair starting to frizz.

"Slow down," Sora laughed, eyebrows raised, "you'll choke."

Riku narrowed his eyes at Sora. "Thanks for un-plugging my alarm clock."

"Where are you going anyways?" Sora asked, guessing the answer. He turned and leaned back into the couch, re-connecting with the TV.

"Namine's house. She's probably on her way to work already."

"I don't get it," Sora shook his head, "are you guys ever going to get together. _Ever_?" He then thought about Project Woo-ha. There wasn't much progress; Sora hadn't seen Kairi for a while since she started that summer class by her own free will. But Riku was pretty much doing all of their work anyways, so it was all good.

Riku rolled his eyes. "Shut-up." Riku opened the front door, leaving Sora inside, and slammed the door a little too hard behind him. He winced a little as he almost literally flew to his car. He turned the keys in the ignition, and instead of driving to Namine's house, he drove straight for the bus stop closest to her house.

Meanwhile,Sora decided that it didn't feel right being the only one in Riku's house. He preferred company. Sometimes, this place really creped him out. It didn't help that it was raining so hard that he could hear it on the roof.

He found Riku's phone, which he'd accidentally left behind, and dialed Kairi's number. At this hour, it would be ridiculous if she was at school. He still didn't get why she let her parents pay a thousand dollars to let her be at school during _summer_.

The phone rang a few times until Kairi picked it up. "Hello?"

"Kairi!" Sora beamed, happier than he should've been. Kairi never picks up her phone.

"Um… Yeah. What are you doing with Riku's phone?"

Sora mood instantly dropped. Of course she'd pick up for _Riku_.

"Hello?"

Sora shook his head. "I was wondering if you wanted to come over to my… Riku's house."

"Is Riku there?

Sora almost scowled. His friend had no idea how attractive he was. "No."

There was a pause, and then Kairi said "Fine. See you soon." And with that there was a light click signaling that she'd hung up the phone. Sora did the same and then pumped his fists into the air. "_Yesssss_!"

**000**

Riku caught Namine on her way to the bus stop. She was walking along the sidewalk, and he could see the instant horror in her expression when she saw his shiny car. He huffed, frustrated. Why did she have to keep pushing him away? He said he wasn't going to give up; so he wasn't. He'd never wanted anybody so bad.

He rolled down the window and stuck his head out in the rain. "Namine!" he called. She turned her face away from him and pretended like she didn't hear him. "Namine!" he repeated, now driving right next to her and the sidewalk she was walking on.

"I can handle taking a bus," she said, almost too quiet for Riku to hear through the rain.

"I feel ridiculous having to chase you," Riku stated, gripping the wheel firmly. They were now at the bus stop, and Riku was in the way. He could hear the bus approaching from behind his car.

"Then stop chasing me," Namine tried to sound harsh, but failed. _Oh God… _she thought, staring at his drenched face. The way his hair fell over his face, the way his eyes glowed through the dark, his smooth, soft skin… "Damn it," Namine wanted to cry, "go away!"

Riku had no other choice but to leave. He could stay, if he wanted a ticket. The bus honked it's horn. Without a word, I drove off down the street and disappeared. Namine expected to see him as soon as she stepped foot inside the restaurant.

The door to the bus opened with a loud squealing noise (being as old as it was) and she walked in unwillingly. She hated busses.

**000**

Just liked Namine guessed he would be, Riku was sitting in a booth at her usual section of tables. Jenny was already ready to switch. "I can't believe you'd want to avoid that…" Jenny trailed off for a moment. She was so boy crazy it almost made Namine sick. "Delicious thing." She cooed, picking up a breakfast menu. _Delicious?_That's the understatement of the year.

Namine ignored her love-struck friend and moved father back into the restaurant. She waved to a couple of the cooks in the kitchen and walked into the bathroom. She attempted to dry off her hair a little and fix her clothes before heading back out to face hungry customers and Riku – who'd be staring at her the whole time she was within view. She really wished she could just take her mothers advice and not feel so bad. It was a life of guilt or regret she was picking from here.

She pictured herself with Riku for a moment, taking in the thought. She suddenly felt depressed. She needed a break, maybe a nice relaxing trip to Hawaii where she could just be by herself and not have to worry about any of this crap, but, knowing her, she'd worry anyways. Things don't just disappear like you want them to.

Riku's eyes locked with hers when she walked out of the kitchen, and she wanted to cry again. She wanted him _so freaking bad_. And she thought what she had with Roxas was love… Not even close.

She forced herself to look away and grabbed a few menus, ready to take orders from the irritated looking family next to the window with the view of the ocean, which shined brilliantly in all its carefree, laid-back glory.

**000**

Kairi was soaking wet, and _not_ happy. Far from happy. When Sora opened the front door, Kairi stood there on the porch glaring, hugging her soaked sweater tight against her freezing body. Her hair was a mess – sticking to her skin and dripping, making Kairi look a little more miserable rather than aggravated, which she was.

"Uh," Sora froze, and didn't know what to say. Maybe he should've just let his hot-tempered friend stay home.

Kairi invited herself in, shoving past him. Sora winced as their shoulders brushed, her cold skin rubbing against his. Sora shut the door quickly and followed her into the kitchen, watching her take a seat at the table. She folded her arms and pursed her lips, pressing her knees together and shivering. "If I have some kind of a deadly cold now, I blame you."

Sora wanted to laugh just then. He reached into the cupboard and grabbed the hot chocolate mix and two mugs, turning slightly towards Kairi and raising his eyebrows. She nodded weakly, coughing once. Her temper disappeared and she appeared just miserable now and she sat there in her drenched clothes.

"You know, you're not going to get any warmer wearing that." Sora commented as he handed Kairi a mug of hot chocolate and sat down across from her.

"What else am I supposed to wear?" Kairi asked, sipping from her cup slowly, and then coughed again.

"I'm sure Riku wouldn't mind if you stole one of his shirts." Sora shrugged, chugging the chocolate until it was gone. He whipped his mouth with one stroke of his wrist and let out a satisfied sigh. He got up to make some more.

Kairi stood then, leaving her half-empty mug on the table as she headed out of the room and down the hall to where Riku's room would be. She entered the pig sty, carefully watching her step. Boy were such… _Slobs_. There were dirty clothes scattered everywhere on the floor, a few unwashed dishes were sitting on the end table next to his bed, his alarm clock fell to the floor (and was probably broken now), the bed was un-made, the floor un-vacuumed, and _god-knows-what_ on the ceiling.

"Ack…" Kairi let out a moan of disgust. She found his closet and picked out a clean shirt, checking twice to make sure it was clean, and traveled out of the messy room. She went to the bathroom and got dressed in his shirt, which almost reached her knees (holy crap, he's tall), and threw her wet shirt into a laundry basket. Even though her jeans were still wet and cold, she instantly felt happier.

When she came back, her mug of chocolate was re-filled and Sora looked like he was on his third cup. She dreaded the sugar high he was about to have. "I made more," He said stupidly, still downing the drink.

Kairi rolled her eyes and pushed her cup towards Sora. When he lifted his eyebrows and opened his mouth to question her, she simply put her hands up. "No, it's okay. After watching you, I have to appetite what so ever."

Sora shrugged and reached for the mug.

Later on that night, Kairi's jeans were almost dry and they sat on the couch watching what was probably the cheesiest movie they'd ever seen. The plot was poor, the actors were hardly actors at all, and the set left much to be desired. Still, they continued to watch the three-hour long movie _drag on and on_ _and on and on. _

Sora couldn't stand the silence. It was the same every time there were together; it was like Kairi didn't like him all. Like they hadn't grown up together. He decided to make small talk. "So…" He stared down at his hands, ignoring the movie, "The weathers pretty… wet."

Kairi hardly nodded. "Yup."

Sora played with his thumbs, feeling hopeless and pathetic. "How's school?"

"Great."

"Cool." Sora adjusted his position on the couch, leaning deeper into the cushion. Kairi hardly noticed that he moved at all. This felt like those awkward IM chats online, where you try so hard to make conversation interesting when really, your life sucks and there's absolutely nothing to talk about.

"This movie sucks." Kairi commented, and Sora looked up. Her arms were still folded over her chest, like they had been most of the morning.

"Oh yeah," Sora chuckled, "you don't have to tell me."

"I want to go home."

Sora sighed, giving up. They were never going to get anywhere, anyways. No matter _how_ hard he tried. Kairi was Kairi, period. He wasn't about to change her. "Fine," he breathed, leaning his head back on the edge of the couch.

"You can come, if you want," Kairi invited under her breath, but Sora caught it. He didn't waste time asking why.

"Great, let's go."

**000**

Riku switched tables constantly. When noon was about a half hour away and Namine's shift was almost over, Riku moved to grab his coat and car keys and left to wait in his car while Jenny watched him, drooling. "Bye Riku!" She waved and giggled when he half-smiled awkwardly back at her and left. She turned to Namine. "Seriously, are you _blind_?"

"You're a flirt." Namine changed the subject, rolling her eyes. Jenny huffed and walked off, taking dirty dishes to the kitchen. Namine took a seat, sighing, and rested her legs. She'd been running around the restaurant all morning. Want to get a great workout? Be a waitress.

Namine leaned over the table a little, and played with her fingers impatiently, waiting for her boss to let her out. She thought up plans to avoid Riku when she got out and shook her head. This was ridiculous. She was going to drive herself insane.

"He's staring at you," Jenny whispered, back again, and there was a jealous edge in her voice. Namine looked up, and with all her might, glared into his minty eyes. He stood just outside of the building, waiting for her next to the window that sat beside the door.

"Okay, you can go," another voice, the boss, said as he passed by. Namine stood and Jenny hurried away to tent to another hungry couple. Taking a deep breath, Namine braced herself and headed out into the rain with her coat flung over her shoulders.

"I-"

"Mm." Namine held up her hand and walked right past him, headed for the bus stop. He followed her through the parking lot, leaving his car.

"Would you just stop for a second?" He yelled through the rain, veins showing from his neck as he sucked in breath and didn't let it out. His teeth were clenched and the rain soaked through his clothes, which stuck to his toned body. Namine noticed that he wasn't wearing a coat.

"No!" She quickened her pace, tightening her fists. _Gotta get out, get out… _Riku grabbed her wrist with enough force to stop her from advancing for the bus stop, but she didn't turn to face him. "Riku…" She warned, flushed. She tried to ignore the warmth coming from his skin.

"I'm not giving up." Riku repeated for the millionth time. The rain pelted them harder now. It was hard to see much of what was right in front of you at this point, so Namine turned around to face Riku and he let her wrist free.

She stared at him, his body partially blurred by the rain. He stepped closer, and Namine saw him more clearly when he was so close that she could almost feel his breath against her forehead. She didn't look up at his face, but continued to stare forward.

"Please…" He begged. He lifted his hand to touch her face but she pushed it away, her lips in a hard line. "I'm tired of this. You won't even think about it."

"There's nothing to think about."

Namine felt a pain in her chest. She turned again when she heard the bus coming but Riku quickly stopped her, whirling her around and grabbing her face. Before Namine even had a chance to think, Riku's mouth was pressed against hers. She pushed her hands against his chest, but he held onto her so firmly that she was only wasting energy. Pretty soon, it was too late anyways. She didn't resist temptation this time, and kissed him back. She held onto his shirt as his he lifted a hand to tangle her hair, his touch ever so passionate.

Namine knew that this was going too far. She was sinking, and fast. She started pounding at his chest and he pulled away, and she took about ten steps backwards so fast that she nearly fell onto the concrete sidewalk. "This is wrong!" She screamed at Riku, and he clenched his fists.

"No it's not!" He screamed back, but she could hardly see him through the blur of the rain.

"Leave me alone!" Namine was almost to the point of tears. Her voice cracked, and she couldn't stop the tears from coming this time. "Just go!" She stammered, and her voice cracked again. She could hear her breathing as her chest heaved up and down, desperate for the oxygen she couldn't seem to find.

"You know what?!" She was surprised that she could hear him through her sobbing. "Fine! Go and live happily ever after with your asshole of a boyfriend that'll just continue to hurt and cheat on you, and forget all about the person standing right here _desperate_ for you. Fine! But when you finally realize you love me back like I _know_ you do, and your finished crying over that jerk, I'll be right here. You know I will. This isn't some-" Riku paused, throwing an arm out into the air with irritation, but Namine could hardly see, "This isn't some sick joke I'm trying to play on you, Namine. I love you! _I_ _fucking love you_!"

Namine couldn't take any more of this, and as soon as the bus stopped she threw herself in. She sat in a seat all the way in the back while people stared at her and the bus drove off, leaving Riku in the pouring rain. He huffed and kicked the street lamp before stalking off to his car.

A nosy boy about her age leaned over and pointed out the window. "Is that your boyfriend?"

Namine shook her head weakly, sustaining more tears. "No," she could barely whisper. As soon as she was inside the door of her home she flew past the living room where her dad stared at her, shocked, and locked herself in her room. She threw herself onto her bed and really let it out – she sobbed and wailed and blubbered for hours, getting no sleep when night came. She wouldn't be getting any sleep for a while.

_To Be Continued. _

**A/N: **Yeah, it was sort of short. Sorry. The next is longer, I promise.

Thanks For reading. I hope it wasn't_ too_ all over the place (or rushed).

Also – chapter 7 will probably be one of the bigger chapters. Drama, drama, drama.

By the way, wish me a happy birthday the 18th. :)

Review if you like.


	7. That's What You Get

**A/N: **Okay. The long wait is over!

**Disclaimer: **…

Oh, and about all the random scenes with Sora and Kairi in the last chapter, they were supposed to get together (but I couldn't make it happen right). I might as well focus on just one couple throughout the last couple chapters.

_**Chapter 7**_

Namine pushed the blonde hair out of her face and relaxed. She should be relieved at last – she could make an honest decision without Riku following her around like a golden retriever. Now, if only that decision wasn't so fatal. A life full of regret or a life full of guilt? You decide.

Thankfully, Namine was a little too distracted to focus on decisions right now. Usually, it was impossible for Namine to focus on more than one thing – and usually, what held her attention the most was whatever was most interesting… or loud and annoying. Take the constant ringing of her cell phone for example.

Since that night in the parking lot outside of the restaurant she worked at, Sora and Kairi, _especially_ Kairi, had been calling her non-stop. So much so that it was impossible to relax or focus on getting that summer tan. But whatever. At a time like this, distraction was good. Good things didn't come when Namine had a chance to think.

Namine was tired with the tears anyways. All that time, almost the entire summer, she spent blaming herself, watching her back, and avoiding any fun whatsoever. Sure, all of this was her fault, or so she thought, but it was time (while she could) to do all the things you were supposed to do during summer; partying, blasting your favorite music, taking it easy, hanging out with friends, maybe even learning to surf. Catching up started now.

Namine took herself to the beach and set her phone on vibrate. She took her favorite pair of sunglasses, her new iPod, and the softest towel she could find in the clean laundry sitting on her couch (that had yet to be folded). She laid the towel out on the ground neatly and laid down, feeling the sand through the fabric. She let the sun beat down on her bare stomach, legs, and arms. She took a short detour on the way here to buy herself a new, light blue bathing suit.

She was just about to put turn her iPod on when she noticed the slight vibrating in her bag next to her. Great. _Another _phone call. She picked it up, knowing that she'd go crazy if she didn't pick it up anyways.

"Stop calling me," she groaned, not even having to look at the caller ID to know who it was.

"Hey," it was Sora this time, and he sounded defensive, "I'm just reminding you that if you want to see Riku –"

"No, go away. I don't want to see Riku right now." Namine hissed. For God's sake, it's only been a week. Did he think she was all better now, or something?



"Ouch. Cool it," Sora insisted.

"Maybe if you'll _stop calling me_," Namine said, and then pressed the bright red _end_ button, and shoved the phone back in her bag, under the sunscreen and extra clothes.

Namine reminded herself that it was good to take nice, long, deep breathes. Particularly when she was pissed and confused and ignoring important decisions all at the same time.

**000**

Sora groaned, staring at the phone in his hand. Namine had hung up on him. _Again._

"I told you that constantly calling her wouldn't work," Kairi smirked. She was lounging on the soft carpet of the second floor of Sora's house, next to a wall length window. She had half of her body pressed against it to keep her sitting up while she carelessly flipped through her magazine. She didn't bother looking at Sora when she spoke.

"You've been helping," Sora reminded her, setting the phone down on an end table next to the couch he was on. He peered over his shoulder at her. When she finally looked up at him he raised his eyebrows.

"This whole _Project Woo-ha_ crap was your idea," She said, staring blankly at him until he looked away, frustrated. But not so much at Kairi as he was at Namine. He'd been spending so much time trying to get his best friend together with him and she wasn't responding at all. The way she avoided him was unusual… Most girls worshiped the ground that Riku walked on.

"If I remember right, it was your idea too, queen on the bitches," Sora leaned into the cushion of the couch, and began to stare at the clock. He decided that he'd call Namine again in another ten minutes.

"_Queen of the bitches_…" Kairi mimicked his voice and made it sound girly. Just for the pleasure of annoying him.

**000**

After a few more calls, Namine just turned her phone off. As painful as that was. She lingered under the sunlight until her skin burnt like fire.

She put on a pair of Abercrombie & Fitch sweats that cut off at her knees and a light sweater other her bathing suit. She applied another layer of sunscreen, just to soothe her skin, before she packed up and headed for home. It was only about one o'clock in the afternoon, and Namine had yet to eat lunch. She made plans to make herself a sandwich once she got back.

She found the walk peaceful. She grabbed some coffee from a small café on her way and admired the light blue summer sky. After one last week of torture and dried tears in the morning, she thought she was finally ready to enjoy the rest of summer.

Even though she knew that it was a bad idea, Namine ignored the decision making. She still waited for the answer to just smack her in the face. The bad dreams of the one-way road subsided a little.



When Namine walked in through the front door of her home, she was greeted with cool air. She locked the door behind herself, since she was home alone, and sauntered into the kitchen. She froze at a note that lay on the counter, folded up neatly and on the top in bright, red letters read '_From Riku_'. She swallowed hard. After a minute of just staring, she picked it up.

_Sorry about last week. It's just hard. If it's okay, I'm still here for you. _

Namine read the sweet words too fast and didn't remember them when she crumpled it up and chucked it across the room. She was furious. Immediately, she was at the phone and dialing his number. He picked up after about two rings.

"He-"

"You- _You_!" Namine could hardly keep herself together. As soon as she thought the drama was somewhat over, he invaded again. It was official. He was never going to leave her alone. "What were you doing in my house!?"

"You left the door unlocked!"

"_What were you doing in my house, Riku_?" Namine asked again, clenching her free fist and grinding her teeth.

"I stopped by to apologize!" Riku defended himself, and then tried to calm her. "Look, it's no big deal. Chill out."

"So you put that note in my kitchen?" Namine asked, still fuming.

"No," Riku said sarcastically, "the lepercons put it there for me."

"What is _wrong_ with you!? You said you'd leave me alone and you—just leave me alone!" Namine knew that she must've been overreacting. That she must've sounded ridiculous to him. She was through with the tears – only anger consumed her.

"You didn't miss me _at all_?" Riku asked.

There came no reply. Riku didn't give her much time to anyways.

"Huh. Well. When your heart grows back, give me a call." And then he hung up. Namine held onto the phone with a shaking hand, half tempted to throw it into the wall.

And then the front door opened right before Namine was about to scream. She held her breathe and dropped the phone.

"Hey there," her father greeted her as he walked into the dining room, headed for the kitchen. He cocked an eyebrow at her red face but decided not to ask.

"What're you doing home so early?" Namine asked, following him, trying to cool herself off.



"Oh, I'll be leaving again in another hour. I thought I'd stop by and grab something to eat." He stopped to stare at the lunch meat sitting on the counter and the piece of bread that had fallen to the floor. Now was a safe time to question. "What is this?"

"Sorry," Namine picked up the dirty piece of bread and threw it away, grabbing another clean one. She continued making her sandwich.

"Mmm." Her father hummed, and then decided that he actually wasn't that hungry. He grabbed a simple apple and was in the living room watching TV another minute later.

Namine sat next to him with her sandwich, trying to distract herself. "So when do you think you'll get that promotion?" she asked, making small talk. She realized how much she actually missed being around her father.

"I don't know," he shrugged, digging his teeth into the apple, "another year or so?"

Namine could hear the sarcasm in his voice, and immediately thought of the sarcasm in Riku's. She mentally slapped herself and smiled at her father.

"Anyways, it doesn't matter," he continued, "whatever pays the bills and keeps you happy." He smiled back at her, and then shifted his attention to the TV.

Namine joined him, trying to find some kind of escape from the anger still building inside of her through the commercials. Nothing happened.

After another half hour, her father left for work again and she was alone. Namine knew that she shouldn't have been caught off guard when her phone began to ring. She retrieved it and sent the caller straight to voice mail. It was Sora again.

"_Namine! Answer the phone!" _he groaned, and she almost laughed. Rather than tuning him out, she sat down and listened to him whine while his voice was being recorded. _"Ungh. Look, there's this party on the beach tonight. That rich kid's house, you know? Riku and I and Kairi will be there, and I think you should come. Time to make up now, yes?" _

Namine sighed at the word 'party.' Every party she'd been to, the pathetic three, Riku was there and she'd had no fun like she was supposed to. She missed the way it was the summer before and the summer before that even. When she didn't have to worry about all this crap.

There was no way she was going. Not if Riku was coming. As much as she missed beach parties.

When Sora hung up, Kairi went to her voice mail and deleted the message. She could find better things to do… Like fold all of that unfolded laundry, for example. In fact, cleaning the whole house would keep her busy and distracted. She could turn up the music and open the windows.



Namine got started by changing. She kept the knee-length sweats on but changed her top into a cheap white T-shirt her father wrought home from wall-mart one day. If it got stained, she wouldn't mind as much.

She folded all the laundry quickly and put it all away before she began to ready the floor for vacuuming by picking things up. A couple couch pillows, her father's coat, Riku's note… She took out the trash before she got the vacuum out of the closet. She played her favorite CD (_Boy's Like Girls_) loud enough to hear throughout the house while she cleaned. Loud enough to hear over the roar of the vacuum.

She thought about how happy her father would be when he got home sometime early in the morning, tired and exhausted, if he was awake enough to notice. She knew that she, at least, would appreciate and cleaner home. Without her mom living here to take care of things, she felt like she was living in a pigpen. She was surprised that the carpet was still white.

She saved her room for last. A couple of hours later of scrubbing floors, organizing cabinets, and washing dishes, she was carrying her cleaning tools down to the basement. Her room was usually very clean – but not in the last week. Too depressed and lazy to even lift a finger. Now it looked like a tornado blew through there. She shuttered at the thought of Riku seeing it- or anyone, for that matter.

She started by picking up her clothes off the floor in her closet. She threw them into a laundry bin and began re-arranging her shoes. She organized the rest of her clothes and positioned the mirror to stand the way it should. She moved on to her bathroom and scrubbed the floor and her shower. The cleaning and the loud music was working so far – the music alone would work. She could hardly hear herself think. She was calm already.

She took a break to eat an early dinner (it was about 4 o'clock in the afternoon now). She made herself a bowl of hot soup and chopped up an apple to munch on while she continued cleaning. She switched CDs (after the _Boys Like Girls_ CD had already played about a million times over). She deliberated between _We the Kings_ and _The Fray_, and ended up choosing _We the Kings_ (which actually sounded similar to _Boys Like Girls_).

She finished the bathroom by organizing her makeup into her large makeup bag and stuck it in the cabinet under the sink. She picked up the floor in the main part of her room and vacuumed rather quickly. She made her bed and re-positioned the TV to face it while trying to locate the remote. Finally finished about twenty minutes later, she collapsed onto the bed and gave herself a pat on the shoulder for her hard work.

She snuck a peak at the clock and realized that her "stupid soap opera" show would be on in just a couple of minutes. Deciding to use the TV upstairs, she turned the music off and made herself a bowl of popcorn (since she was still hungry anyways) and made herself comfortable in the middle of the couch. She grabbed the remote and turned the TV on. The TV channel was on the News, and the weather man was currently gushing about what amazing weather they were going to have all week and how warm it would be tonight.

_Tonight. _Namine thought about the party Sora had so rudely invited her to. She shook her head and mentally slapped herself. There was no way she was going to that party. Surely, after his little invasion, he'd be wherever she was.

She changed the channel to her soap opera right when the opening theme song started. She sang along quietly to herself, knowing the words by heart. What was odd was that she found herself falling asleep as soon as her favorite characters were on the screen. Within a half hour of the hour long episode, she was laying on the couch with the popcorn pushed to the side on the coffee table. She awoke well after her show was over to the ringing of her phone. She groaned in frustration.

_This is it._ She thought to herself. _I draw the line at 50 calls in one day._

Not like she was counting…

She answered the phone and furiously screamed into it. "Leave me alone!" she thundered.

"Whoa, whoa, hey," came a different voice than she expected. "Chill out."

Namine swallowed hard. "Roxas? Uhm. Hey?" She turned her head to look at the clock. It was earlier than she thought it felt like. It was only about seven. "Sorry about that. I thought you were…" she trailed off, remembering that Roxas had no idea who the heak Sora, Kairi, or Riku was. "Never mind. What's up?"

"Eh. Just walking around. I've been knocking on this persons door for 15 minutes now but they won't answer." He explained, not sounding annoyed at all. "Just kinda standing here."

"Oh. Are you okay? Namine asked, wondering what time it was in Destiny islands. She assumed that he was just trying to wake Wakka up of something like that.

"Just hot. It's always too hot in California." He snickered then, and Namine froze – utterly stuck with terror. He was _here_?! This couldn't be happing.

"Uhhhhhh, _what_?" was all she managed. Roxas laughed louder.

"Open your damn door already. I would've just walked in but it's locked."

Namine jumped to her feet, dropping her phone, and flew to the door. Sure enough, there Roxas was, standing right in front of her with a phone to his ear. He had his free hand stuffed in the pocket of his jeans and he wore an old American Eagle shirt (that Namine remembered because she bought it for him some time ago) and that same old smirk on his face. His hair was messy and not gelled up today, so it hunt over his eyes lazily and gave him that sort of trashy skater look that always used to love… When she wasn't in love with Riku.

"Hey," he greeted her casually and shoved his phone into his other pocket. He wrapped one arm around her, pressing her to his chest in a sort of half-hug. She whimpered to herself, grimacing in her own awkwardness and she barely managed to hug him back. All of her limbs were numb. She should be 

thrilled – not horrified. He acted like he didn't notice her uneasiness (which she tried to hide with her best effort) and released her, and moseyed on into her house like it was his own. It had sort-of been the last couple of summers that they were together.

Namine followed him silently and slowly, being lead back into the living room. He spotted the popcorn and the remote, threw his ass down on the couch, and changed the channel. He set the popcorn on his lap and shoved handfuls into his mouth at a time as Namine sat next to him, still silent. Namine made sure to lean back into the couch so it would look like she was relaxed, but hid her face from him so he wouldn't see that she was actually panicked.

Riku had started talking to her again. Being in her home. In her life. What if he decided to just drop by sometime soon before august was over and say hello – and then she'd have to hide. There were no excuses – Roxas and Riku were related so they obviously knew each other. And it sounded to her like they never got along. So wouldn't Roxas automatically think that Riku was helping Namine cheat on him while he was away? Namine almost shivered.

"Hey," Roxas said with a mouthful, and then swallowed. He put a hand on her shoulder casually and shook her a little. "You alright over there?" he finally noticed something was wrong. Just what Namine didn't want.

"O-oh," she stuttered, laughing awkwardly, "I'm fine."

Roxas shrugged and removed his hand, shifting his full attention back to the TV in front of him. He shoved another handful of popcorn down his throat.

"So what's up?" he finally asked an hour later – during commercials, of course.

"Not much," Namine answered typically, boring as ever. But what was she supposed to say? _Oh, just trying not to cheat on you. _

He made a meekly interested face in response and then commercials were over. His eyes followed the football being passed around on TV, getting tense every now and then but never getting excited enough to jump up and shout like her father, or any other male she knew, would do. Another thing about Roxas – he was never too excited about anything. Sure, he enjoyed the whole skateboarding thing, but he wasn't very convincing. He'd be the best (in a competition or whatever) and then win, but would shrug and be like, "awesome" and then go about with his normal business.

During the next break, Namine tried small talk. This was all too uncomfortable for her – just sitting there. "So, what've you been up to?"

"Mmm," Roxas hummed, thinking, while he put his arms back on the ledge of the couch, one of them behind Namine's head. He lifted his feet onto the coffee table and pushed the empty popcorn bowl away from him. "I've been doing nothing all summer. Literally. I thought I might as well come over and do nothing – but with you."



"I still don't see why you didn't just come here after you found out the skateboarding thing was cancelled," Namine tried not to sound irritated, but she was. If he had decided to be a good boyfriend _just for once_, she wouldn't be in this mess. But no matter how big of a jerk he was or how she decided to prove it, it was still wrong to blame her problems on him. She got herself into this.

Roxas turned his head slightly to her. "I told you. I didn't feel like it."

_Why? Because you couldn't get your lazy ass up and buy a plane ticket? You're here now, aren't you? It wasn't so hard, was it? _– Namine wished she could say that. She reminded herself to be the better person. She was driven to be the better person. She_ will_ be the better person. Instead of freaking out at him, she just shrugged.

"But it doesn't matter anymore," Roxas said matter-of-faculty, "I'm here now, aren't I? That should be good enough." He smiled like he was an all-knowing, wise and superior person. So much better than her. She wanted to gag. "Stop nagging me. You're always nagging me." He tapped her on the nose simply and then, once again, was glued to the TV. Like it was so much better than she was. But with the way she'd been lately – and that means the entire summer so far – some misleading TV show was probably a lot better than she was anyways.

And then Namine couldn't stay still anymore. She had to get up and do something. Anything to get blood flowing through her limbs again.

She stood, and Roxas made not even the slightest movement to follow or even look at her. And this was the first time he'd seen her in _how long_? She knew then, as she peered at him over her shoulder in some slight hope that he might look at her once, that even if she decided to stay with him instead of Riku, they would eventually break up. Nothing lasts forever – but _all that time_ she'd wasted with him made her sick and disgusted with herself. Did she value the way she was treated at all. Did she have any self esteem or care for herself at all? Why hadn't she seen how wrong for her he was in the first place? Riku had been right. She'd known it, too. She knew that she wasn't trying to convince him that what he said was wrong – this whole time she was just trying to convince herself.

And all for what?

But it couldn't end now. Not for Riku. She had to save that last little bit of her dignity and (say it with me) _be the better person._ Two more weeks was all that she had to love through.

But then she thought about it more as she walked out the door, not needed her coat for the long walk she was about to take. It was warm enough anyways.

Say she did do what's supposedly "_right_" and wait to break-up with Roxas till she was home again. Sure, she wouldn't feel guilty (at least she thought she wouldn't) but what about that regret? She'd never know what could've happened. She'd think about it her entire life! Wasn't that just as bad as feeling guilty?!



Namine shook her head at herself. She was being ridiculous. The answer was finally here, so she was going to stick with it. As painful as that might be.

**000**

Riku knew that Namine wasn't coming. For that, his whole evening was ruined. He dragged himself around the couch and did nothing the remainder of his day, counting down the last few hours before the party (which would start at ten pm). Maybe, then, he would be able to be himself and have some kind of fun.

He'd never felt this way about one person before. He used to be king of the careless – mister laid back. Now he couldn't sleep at night. He'd stay up staring at the ceiling, thinking that maybe sometime he'd win Namine over. He knew that part of the reason he liked her was that she was the one girl on earth that had ever run from him. The one girl on earth that drove him crazy.

He thought about her constantly. Only went down to The Palm Tree when he knew it was Namine's shift. He couldn't leave her alone for more than a week, for Christ's sake! Long story short, love sucks. It's cruel, confusing, and almost completely unbearable – but oddly wonderful and perfect all at the same time. He hated it.

At least right now, he did. Because he wasn't getting what he wanted. And probably never would.

Sora nagged him constantly. "Dude, you should go see what Namine's doing," he constantly said whenever he wasn't _already _pursuing her. He'd gotten severely annoying the last week when he'd tried to ignore her. It's hard to forget about someone when you're constantly being reminded via cell phone.

He was sitting on the porch, watching the sky as it slowly darkened. He checked his watch constantly and fidgeted, getting up every now and then to just walk around the length of his house. To feel the grass brush against his feet in some kind of attempt to relax him.

Finally he couldn't take it anymore. He hopped in his car, ready to drive around Namine's house just for the heak of it. Maybe he'd get lucky and she'd be hanging around outside. But then again, maybe that wouldn't be so lucky. She'd already freaked out at him once today. He wouldn't take another argument with her.

He reached her street and saw nothing in her lawn but overwatered flowers – what he expected. No Namine. Frustrated, he drove down the length of her block and made to turn towards the coffee shop that Sora and Kairi always hung out at. He knew Sora was there – he might as well talk to someone to pass time. Why not his best friend?

But suddenly he froze and slowed the car. No doubt, there Namine was some ways off into the distance, walking this way towards her home. She didn't seem to notice that Riku's car was sitting there, waiting for him.



He rolled down his window when she was close enough to hear him. Oddly, she didn't see him yet. His car had to be familiar by now.

"Namine!" He called. Her head shot up and turned towards him, her face instantly twisting into a fierce expression of pain. Like he'd just stabbed her with a sharp pencil, or something. She sped up her pace and walked past his car – way over on the other side of the street. "Hey, stop!" He backed up his car as she kept walking. "Just listen."

Namine didn't want to listen. She just wanted to clear her head. She wanted some kind of peace and relaxation, an escape from this mess she was in. She wouldn't be doing that with Riku around.

Riku sight, backing the car up more as she got past him again. "C'mon. This is ridiculous," he pleaded her, and she slowed. He took this chance to invite her along. Even though he knew she probably wouldn't go anywhere at all with him. Not right now. "Just get in the car." She looked up at him slightly, interested in a kind of depressed way. He felt bad about whatever was running through her head. "Please?"

She completely came to a stop and paused for only a moment before starting her way slowly across the street to him, and he smiled a small smile to himself while her eyes were still glued to the ground. She got in the car, taking quite some time, and sat in the backseat as far away from him as possible. But he was still satisfied. As long as she was in his car, he was in control and could say as much as he wanted in some last effort to convince her that he was what was best for her. For now, she was trapped.

**000**

Oddly, Namine decided to take up Riku's offer and go with him to wherever he was going. She convinced herself that it was better than walking around aimlessly, trapped inside her head, or sitting around watching Roxas. And there was a part of her that really missed Riku's near constant presence. Before, despite all the drama, she hadn't really minded him hanging around. She liked the attention, especially from him.

No matter how much she wanted to just be laid-back and carefree with him, she stayed silent and the car was flooded with an awkward silence until the car pulled into the parking lot of a café. The one that served the napoleons.

Riku sat there for a moment, unmoving, trying very hard to think of something to say to her. Namine groaned, and couldn't take it anymore. She took out her phone, quickly sent Roxas a text message warning him that she'd be gone for a few hours, and then leaned over the backseat with half of her body in the front so she could look at Riku up close. "Okay, look," She didn't sound pleased, but the way he smelt up so close was secretly making her crazy, "I'm tired of this."

Riku's eyes looked hopeful, like she might be giving in. But she wasn't.



"I need-"Namine paused, sighed, and then groaned again, "I need a break from all of this. The drama, the gut wrenching guilt, feeling horrible about myself… I know it's not your fault, but for tonight, we're going to pretend like it is. You have just a couple of hours to make it up to me, starting now."

Riku looked even more hopeful now, and was about to speak, but Namine continued.

"No awkward silences. No bashing on Roxas – in fact, we're not even could to bring that whole situation up." Namine was completely serious, but Riku wanted to laugh. "Now, you start making my day by buy bringing your sense of humor into the café with you and buying me a napoleon. Sound like a plan?"

Now, finally, after what seemed like forever, Riku laughed, and in return Namine smiled at him. "You've got yourself a deal, your highness."

**000**

It hadn't taken long for Riku to make it feel like the beginning of summer again. When she could be around him and not feel so much guilt. (sure, she was guilty about sleeping with him, but that wore itself out after a while–mostly, at least). There was still that little voice in the back of her mind that begged and pleaded for her to get out of there and continue being a "_good girlfriend_", but she didn't listen. Not once since that first beach party had she been able to just relax when Riku was within a one mile radius of her. None-the-less talking to her.

He was telling her a whole bunch of stories about his life back home on the other side of destiny islands with Sora and Kairi. He told her about the stupid little agreements Sora and Kairi would get into at his house; like over the microwave.

Namine could honestly say that she was enjoying herself after a while, about an hour and a half after they arrived, when all the awkwardness had completely settled.

They switched back in forth, telling random stories about their pointless lives. Namine told him about the one time that spiders invaded her house in the spring and she ended up having to stay in a hotel with her mom one night while someone poison bombed their house to kill all the bugs. Riku told her about last summer when he's stayed home and threw parties in his backyard almost every night. Namine was jealous when he told her that he lived right on the beach, and that the beach _was _his backyard.

The hours flew by, until it was almost pitch black outside, and Roxas had yet to call asking where Namine was. Namine had long ago forgotten about his existence.

They both finished about their tenth cup of coffee and ordered more, ready to launch into another conversation about something stupid but somehow amusing. Currently they were discussing junk mail.

"You know, some of the stuff people send me on my e-mail address is ridiculous. I was going through it this morning wondering what the hell all these people are thinking. According to_ just_ what I was sent last week, I've won ten new laptops, a new BMW, and apparently, somebody on the myyearbook 

website is looking for me." He shook his head, laughing like he was almost annoyed just thinking about it. "Oh, and just in case you needed a map to Nevada…"

"Oh, I know. Once I got an e-mail trying to sell me a laser. Who would try and sell a laser to someone?" Namine took a sip of her re-filled glass, feeling the coffee's warmth run down her throat.

"Isn't it stupid? I honestly wished I didn't even have a computer sometimes, so I wouldn't have to deal with some of that stuff. Do you have any idea how many viruses my computer has from just _looking_ at the stuff?"

Namine laughed. "My dad's always getting pissed at me for stuff like that. _You're killing my computer! _He says over and over."

Riku's phone rang then, and he rolled his eyes and answered it. "Not now, Sora," he said, like somehow he knew who was calling.

"_You were supposed to be at the party an hour ago." _Sora reminded him, frustrated. Namine stared at Riku quizzically and he groaned, hanging up the phone and checking the time. He looked out the window, and seemed depressed. Time was up. He knew that as soon as he drove Namine home, things would return to normal.

Namine checked the time right after he did, and cursed under her breath. _"Shit,"_ she muttered pulling out her phone and checking for missed calls. Oddly, there were none. She was about to call Roxas and ask if he was okay, but remembered that Riku had no idea that Roxas was in town. She shuttered again as unpleasant thoughts ran through her head. She really shouldn't have gone out with Riku tonight, but she could resist. Not with the way Riku's eyes begged her as he sat in his car, or how much sexier he looked with his hair messy. She couldn't help but stare at him whenever he wasn't looking right at her – his faded Abercrombie shirt (the same one she almost stole), his perfectly ripped dark blue jeans, his God like features…

Namine shook her head. It really did feel like the beginning of summer again, when she constantly checked him out and was more worried that he'd catch her rather than if she gave into him again.

Riku turned back to her and cocked an eyebrow at the distant expression on her face. "You okay?" he asked, and she snapped back.

She blinked at him, eyes wide for a moment. "Uh, I'm fine."

"Hey, it's kinda late and I promised Sora I'd be somewhere," Riku looked pained, "I should probably drive you back now."

"Yeah." Namine sighed, and followed Riku out of the café after he left a check for all the coffee and napoleons they'd bought. Riku held the door open for her and walked to close behind her that Namine felt like he might bump into her. She had up next to him this time, on on the way home she checked her phone again. Ironically, it started to ring when she grabbed it.



She answered, uneasy. "Hello?"

Roxas answered, but didn't sound like he wanted to know where she was at all. "I'm going out with some friends from last summer I ran into at the airport today. I'll see you when you wake up tomorrow."

"Uh, okay?" Namine didn't care where he went. This only gave her a chance to spend more last minute time with Riku while Roxas wasn't looking. She heard Roxas hang up and she put her phone away, turned her head to Riku (he was already watching her from the corner of his eye) and acted like she didn't know where Riku was going.

"Where did you say you had to go, again?" Namine asked, and just then they pulled into her driveway.

"Oh, some party. Do you remember the kid who threw the party that I met you at?" Riku asked, and Namine nodded. "Yeah, it's at his house. Did you want to… come?" Riku asked hopefully, and his eyes shinned dully in the light illuminating from the moon that came through the window. They sort of sparkled and Namine died to reach out and grab him, but resisted like she always had to. Blast his sexyness!

"Yes," Namine forced herself to say before she could change her mind. She'd already been a bad girlfriend once tonight, so it didn't matter anymore, Namine thought to herself. Not until tomorrow did she have to start ignoring him again…

Riku smiled her favorite smile and she had to look away from him. Yes – she was going to go to this party with Riku. But she wasn't going to cheat on Roxas. That would be stepping over the line.

**000**

Namine had remembered vividly how loud that first party of the summer was, but as they got there, it seemed louder. She knew that it would be this way until around two, when the cops started patrolling around, and everyone would move out to the beach if they weren't already outside. Namine walked through the front door by Riku's side where a couple of guys were sitting on the porch, throwing back their heads and laughing like the drunken jocks that they were.

Namine felt a headache coming on as they moved into the main area of the party – the gigantic living room connected to the kitchen and the deck outside. Namine watched the speaker all around that were connected to the ceiling vibrate violently, blasting music from a band she wasn't sure she'd heard of before. There were plastic cups left everywhere – the couches, counters, even the floor. Everyone was packed together so closely that instantly Namine could feel the heat of the room.

But despite all this, Namine loved parties like this. It was like a club without the club (if that makes sense)! And a beach! The alcohol being served by a couple of people that were friends with the owner of the home was free, as always, and as much as it made Namine's stomach churn, she loved the smell of it.



"You want anything?" Riku asked, making a move for the kitchen where the good stuff was. Namine shook her head.

"Nah," she said. Riku stopped and shrugged.

"Okay."

They stopped at the back of the room right under another speaker and Namine leaned against the wall, Riku standing closely in front of her (he couldn't help it – it was so crowded). There they waited for Sora and Kairi to just…_ find_ them like they said they would. Namine wished them good luck. She wouldn't be able to find anything on her own _here._ But that's another thing Namine liked – how close you'd have to dance and be to everyone. You'd always have people being pressed up against you and even if you were dancing by yourself, it wouldn't look that way at all. Then Namine snickered. It was also a way to meet new people. Namine remembered how everyone tried talking to her the first night she was here.

Riku shoved his hands in his pockets and let out a long, exasperated sigh and looked another direction, watching to see if Sora would just magically appear. Namine admired him again while he was distracted, taking in the way his shirt fit against his toned chest. Just the way he held himself when he stood up straight gave him that sexy, laid-back feel that was completely irresistible and attractive. His jeans were perfectly ripped in all the right places and a dark color that highlighted how in-shape he was. He was very nice to look at…

He looked at her again, and she snapped her head up and smiled like she wasn't totally just checking him out. He let out another long breath and shrugged, returning her smile. "I give," he put his hands up in surrender. "He's never going to find us. You want to dance or something.

_Yes, _Namine almost said too fast, but kept her mouth shut. Oh, she craved to be so close to that body of his and those gleaming minty eyes and that long, gorgeous hair of his but… That might be considered cheating. She also held her hands up in a surrendering position.

Riku lowered his hands and cocked an eyebrow. "Is that a yes or a no?"

Namine thought about it for a moment, her craving to reach out and touch him increasing tenfold because of just the way he'd looked at her. And because he was even looking at her at all. A boy as God like as him _should not_ be chasing around girls like her. It just wasn't right, but she loved it. If only she wasn't so determined to keep her word. "No, sorry," Namine bit her lower lip and looked down at her shoelaces, "Boyfriend, remember?"

Riku almost laughed, because she'd said that a million times before – practically shoving the fact down his throat. It was too bad that he knew just who her boyfriend was, because now he wasn't going to back down. He said he wouldn't.

"Not giving up, remember?" Riku stepped closer, but he had already been close, so by now he was almost chest-to-chest with her.



"You already did, _remember?_" Namine actually smiled at what he had said, but it was a sly smile. She was confident in herself after all she'd been through. All of that resisting him before was not for nothing. "And besides, this was supposed to be a one night thing."

And now Riku was so close that he was whispering in her ear. His sweet breath on her neck almost made her giggle. "What if I don't want it to be just a one night thing?"

"That isn't up to you," Namine tilted her head towards him, and now they were cheek-to-cheek.

"Oh?"

"You heard me."

Riku moved his head back just barely so he could see her face. He shook his head slowly. "No. I think you might have to repeat yourself.

Namine almost died right there. They were breathing the same air and Namine felt her temperature rise dramatically as she watched his eyes and he watched hers back, looking sexy in a sort of devious way. Crafty, he was… Looks like he had her trapped.

"Fine," Namine gave in, withstanding the urge to kiss him, "I'll dance with you."

**000**

Two hours later and they were still squished together into the crowd of people, switching back and forth between the living room and the kitchen to get something to drink. Namine knew that she shouldn't, but everything had started to get to her head. Hopefully she wouldn't look too bad in the morning, and Roxas wouldn't notice. She laughed more than she'd laughed earlier in the café as Riku talked to her in her ear since the music was so loud and they were so close.

Eventually, everyone was kicked outside and the music was put on a lower level so they wouldn't get in trouble with the local police. Now Namine was familiar with the music being played (mostly bands that sounded like Blink-182). Riku was sitting next to her on the deck that extended a few meters over the ocean's surface. They sat on the edge and Namine had her legs crossed but Riku let his hang over the edge. He'd taken off his shoes so he could feet the water with the tips of his feet. He didn't bother rolling up his jeans.

Namine joined him eventually but lay on her back with one hang being her head. She watched the stars shine and glitter and made wishes on satellites that she mistakes for shooting stars. She was thankful that she had just decided to enjoy herself tonight and not worry about how she'd feel about herself in the morning. It was refreshing.

Sora and Kairi had yet to find them, even though it should've been easy because they were the only ones on the dock.



Riku sighed and laid down next to her with his hands rested on his stomach. In a couple of hours they'd officially be back to normal. Riku had yet to try and convince her to dump Roxas like the dick he was and be with someone who really gave a shit about her. Someone like himself.

"So this is it?" he asked, and Namine knew what he was talking about. There was only another week and a half of summer left, so it was near impossible for him to win her over now. Not with so little time left. For all he knew, this really _could_ be it. Of everything. He didn't just mean tonight.

Namine sighed like she didn't want him to say that, and tilted her head to look at the side of his face as he continued to stare up. "I guess."

Now Riku was looking at her, they looked at each other, and Riku tried hard not to yell. "Why not me?" he asked, confused. "What's so great about Roxas? I thought I was doing everything right."

Namine didn't say anything, and looked back up. He was right. He'd always said all the right things at all the right times and made all the right moves and was always kind and loving and everything perfect that Namine could ever ask for. Ever. She was blessed to have even discovered that such a person, and she was resisting him. So much for doing the right thing. She was running from the one thing she wanted most.

"Weren't you having a great time tonight? Do you have any idea how much more I care about you than _he_ ever will?"

Namine didn't want to have this conversation. This was starting to get painful. She took this as a hurtful sign that she should be getting home now. Fast. Before she did anything else stupid. She could feel the guilt coming to her now – the one simple reason that had kept her from him. The world would be a much easier place to live in if you could switch emotions off. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

"Take me home now," Namine said quietly, sitting up now. Riku sighed because he knew that was coming.

"Alright," Riku wished that he hadn't ruined the mood by asking. But he had to sometime. Instead of living in this fantasy world acting like he actually had her.

They walked back through the house and Riku grabbed another drink before they left to get him to sleep when he got home. He wanted to pass out and not wake up for days. If he was lucky enough – he'd sleep till the end of summer.

He tried to accept that he pretty much lost as they made their way towards the street where he parked his car. They had to walk a little ways, past all the other cars that were lined up. He searched his pocket for the keys before they made it to his car.

But then Namine stopped, and he looked up towards whatever she was looking at. They were standing by his car now, but Namine refused to listen to him and get in the car. What she was looking at wasn't anything unusual to see pretty much anywhere in California – some random couple groping each other 

in the darkness of the houses shadow and the bushes that surrounded it. For some reason, only God knows what, Namine felt like watching. But why were her eyes slightly widened like something was about to shock her? She looked as though she was trying to figure something out by the way she leaned to the side and raised her eyebrow a little.

"What?" Riku asked her, leaning on the side of his car. Namine didn't look back at him when he spoke, but kept her eyes glued on the couple.

"Do you know who that is?" Namine asked, sounding hopeful. Was that what she wanted to know?

But before Riku could answer, she inhaled sharply with a sort-of half gasp. Something was up.

"What?" Riku asked again.

And then Namine looked hurt, crushed, betrayed, and all around pissed. Her face was growing to such an extreme level of red that she looked like she might explode right there on the spot. And then, as Riku looked back at the couple, he realized what was so wrong, and why Namine was storming in their direction right now.

The dirty blonde, messy hair and the dull eyes. The skateboarding shoes, low cut jeans, an almost too baggy shirt – and an un-matching puppy face to go with it all. There Roxas was, caught in the act, cheating on Namine behind a strangers home with a girl he probably just met. For Riku, this was nothing new about Roxas. Namine, on the other hand, was infuriated. Her eyes were watery now, but no tears spilled from them because her face was too hot. Roxas spotted them from a distance as Namine came at him, and the girl he was with gasped and then was gone.

"_You dirty little cheating bastard_!" Namine screamed loud enough for half the neighborhood to hear, the hurt coming out in her voice as it cracked and the tears really started to pour. She was mad, mad, mad.

Roxas put his hands up in defense, but didn't look quite as scared as he should be. Namine raised her hand to slap him, but froze. She couldn't bring herself to even _touch_ him. She'd spent all summer resisting the one person she wanted the most all for him, and now, finally, she realized completely what Riku had been trying to tell her. She was angrier with herself, but she'd deal with that later.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Roxas took a step back as Namine started to scream at him again, clenching her fists and bearing her teeth.

"I can't believe you! I was really wasting those four years with you, wasn't I? How could you even – after all I've done for you!?" Namine's words were said too fast and loud, and Roxas was slightly frightened. He knew he was in deep shit now.

Namine was so mad that she couldn't even speak to him now. So she waited, face red and eyes wet, for him to speak up and say something intelligent about what he thought we was doing. Nothing came.



And then he was ready to say something, backed up far enough so that if Namine attacked him, he could escape. _Nobody_ would want to be within a one-mile-radius of her right now. _Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. _

"Look," he stuttered, trying to straighten his poster and act like he knew what he was talking about, like his opinion really mattered anymore, "what we had was… _Fun_."

"Fun?" Namine asked, even more hurt. Is that all he thought it was? Well, fine then. She reached back for Riku's drink, stealing it from him, and she threw it at Riku. "No, Roxas. _That _was fun."

And with that, she was out of there. Roxas stood, drenched, watching her leave. He noticed Riku then, and was even more shocked. Riku, not really knowing what to do and a little shocked himself, ran to catch up with Namine.

She was _really_ crying right now. Her face was almost as wet as Roxas's and she sniffed constantly, trying to wipe away the tears that just kept coming. Everything she'd been doing all summer… all of that effort… _wasted._ On a self centered jerk like Roxas. She couldn't believe herself.

She got in the car and slammed the door, and Riku was already turning the keys in the ignition. "Are you okay?" he asked as the car flared to life, and he had to turn the radio down to mute. He waited for a long moment for Namine to speak through her hysteria, and all she managed to get out was:

"_Just take me home. Please_."

He did as she said, and they were at her house in a matter of minutes, and she didn't seem to even notice as he got out of the car to follow her inside.

He wanted to do something to make her stop crying. But he knew that it was best to just leave her be till morning. She was sick and tired and hurt and needed to sleep desperately, and didn't need him saying "_I told you so_" right now.

She let him inside, too upset to even think rationally. Riku followed her down to her room and shut the door for her, and just watched as she crawled into her bed with the lights on, acting as though Riku wasn't even there, and curled up into a ball on top of the blankets. She shivered, burying her head in the pillow and screaming into it with the full force of her sobs. Riku felt horrible.

Watching a person break down wasn't a pleasant experience.

He decided that he wasn't going to leave her, so he sat down and waited for her to cry herself to sleep. Riku guessed that she really didn't know that he was here, in her room, watching. But Namine spoke then, catching Riku off guard. "Thanks for driving me home, Riku. You can go now." She said in-between sobs.

Riku got to his feet and walked up to her bedside, and leaned over the edge so that he was hovering over her. He forced the blanket over her body and up to her shoulders, and he gave her a serious look. "I'm not going anywhere, Namine."



Namine tried to glare at him but her face wouldn't allow that. She just continued to cry. She nodded slowly like she decided to just give up. Riku leaned over to switch the light off.

"Get some sleep, Namine." He ordered, but softly and sweetly, as if his voice might soothe her.

She was out, exhausted from the crying, in a matter of minutes. In another effort to comfort her, as if it would make anything any better, he rubbed her shoulder as she drifted off into a deeper sleep. He sat on the edge of her bed, unable to see in the darkness. Namine shifted restlessly next to him. Not even sleep was calming her.

But Riku knew that the twist of events had yet to really, fully sink in.

_**To Be Continued.**_

**A/N: **Thanks for reading! Review if you like.

Oh, and by the way: In case you haven't noticed throughout the story, I _really_ like Abercrombie. Lol.

Sorry about the length of the chapter, if it's too long for some of you. I had to get to a certain point in the story by this chapter and it took a little longer than I thought it would. But, hey, it's like two chapters in one! I hope you enjoyed it!


	8. The Long Road To A Healed Heart

**A/N: **Finally, an update. I hope you enjoy it.

Wow. Another long chapter. I had to keep writing and re-writing several parts. Hopefully you like long chapters. Heh.

Oh, and by the way, last chapter I wrote said Namine stole Riku's drink and threw it at _Riku._ What I meant was she threw it at _Roxas_. Sorry about that.

And also, this was supposed to be the last chapter but it didn't feel right to stop. One more chapter to go – more information about that in the bottom A/N. Because this was supposed to be the last, that's probably why it's so long. Sorry about that for those of you who prefer shorter chapters.

**Disclaimer: **For the 8th time, no.

_**Chapter 8**_

Namine woke up with the worst migraine of her life.

She groaned, turning over on her side and burring half her face in her pillow that was stained with black mascara tears. She felt sore and her arm tingled because she'd slept on it through the night. She could feel the dried tears streaked across her face and it wasn't pleasant, it made her want to get up and wash her face but she had no will left in her body to even swing her legs off the side of the bed and sit up straight. She felt like she had a hangover.

She was almost too caught up in her own little world of pain and hurt, the emptiness inside her chest, that she didn't notice the warm body beside her for a minute. When she slowly opened her eyes and her body began to awaken, she suddenly felt the warmth radiating from Riku who was behind her, one arm draped over her waist. She could hear his breathing, loud but not quite a snore.

Namine was distracted from her ache for a short moment as she wondered what Riku was doing in her _bed_.

Oh God, No. No, not again. Especially not now.

Namine let out a little whimper, a pained noise creeping its way up though her dry throat. Riku stirred then, opening his eyes abruptly and pulling in a sharp breath that was a cross between a yawn and a gasp. He looked at her, at the wall behind her, and craned his neck around to see Namine's room as best he could as he lay frozen in the tangle of blue sheets.

And then his gaze focused back on Namine, on her face. Realization hit him then and he suddenly remembered why he was here. His features twisted into a grimace at the dry tears everywhere. _Everywhere._

Namine was out of tears. All she could manage was more whimpers as she closed her eyes and tried to breath.

Riku removed his arm and lifted himself. He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, but his face never untwisted from that horrible grimace. It stayed there, a mix of pure hatred and despair at the same time. Never had he felt some a gruesome feeling.

"Roxas was all wrong," was all he said for the first half of the morning.

When Namine had the strength, she crawled out of bed and shuffled over to her walk in closet. She almost forgot to shut the door as she slowly walked in, her legs feeling weak and sort of jello-ish. She tugged at her shirt, which stuck to her skin uncomfortably. Closer to her shoulders it was rough and folded into little tight wrinkles made possible by dried water. Had she not noticed the rain that may have been falling last night as she stormed into her home or had she really cried _that much_?

Namine didn't feel like dressing up pretty as she searched for something to wear. She wasn't planning on going anywhere for a while. All she wanted to do was sit around on the living room couch and sulk and she ate entire gallons of chocolate ice cream at a time and watched soap operas.

It felt so weird – not being a part of Roxas's life anymore. For all the time they'd been together she'd always been the loyal one. Calling him daily, making sure to ask about how _he_ was doing and always listening to what he had to say, no matter how self-centered or pointless. He'd never asked about her.

More hurt coursed through her body. She had always felt not good enough, like there was something wrong with her and not with Roxas. This summer she'd learned so much about her not so perfect boyfriend but still felt as though it were her fault that everything had ended so badly. Like it was her own fault that she felt like barfing and then crawling into a hole she'd never have to crawl back out of.

Namine threw on a pair of towel like comfy blue shorts and worn White A & F shirt, the date1892 on it faded with age. The fluffy carpet felt nice on her feet as she walked across her room, switching from the closet to the bathroom. She brushed her hair quickly and simply pulled it back into an effortless ponytail. She cleaned her face of the dry salt water and sniffed, giving herself a good look in the mirror before she moved. Honestly; she still looked horrible. Her eyes were red and puffy, the purple bruise like bags under her eyes looked painful, and without make-up and proper care to her hair she just looked like a hobo, in her opinion.

But she didn't care to fix herself up more. She felt no will to, and was too tired to wonder what Riku would think of her appearance. He'd just seen her ten times worse, anyways.

**000**

Ice cream and a soap opera was the trick. Namine found herself feeling slightly better as she became distracted from the real world and caught up in a different one, full of an on-going drama she wasn't a part of. It always made her feel better to see someone feeling just as bad as she did on TV, though she knew they were just acting. It gave her something else to think about.

Riku sat motionlessly next to her with his arms crossed. He stared blankly at the screen, his expression unable to read. Namine told him where the cereal was in case he was hungry and that he could leave 

anytime he wanted to, but Riku refused to leave her side. Te rest of the morning he was within at least a 5 foot radius of her.

Namine offered him some of her rocky road ice cream but her recoiled, saying something about her needing it. Namine hardly took the time to feel touched, as she was still caught up in how much her life sucked. The soap operas could only work for so long.

As hours dragged on and episodes of _Passions_ ended, Namine's thoughts drifted back more and more. She tried in vain, straining herself, to keep her mind evermore distracted but the inevitable happened. She whimpered again, her focus no longer on the TV that was black with while text scrolling up the screen. More credits at the end of yet another episode.

Namine tried to drown herself in ice cream but that didn't work ether. For the first time, ice cream had failed her.

Riku seemed more alert as Namine climbed back into depression. She was curled up into a ball on the very end of the couch with the entire carton of ice cream cradled in her lap and a spoon hanging out of her mouth.

Namine was wondering how much of a baby Riku must think she was. She felt oddly melodramatic all of a sudden but couldn't pick herself up or even uncurl from the tight ball she'd made with her legs and arms.

Just when Namine was feeling _really_ bad, she felt Riku's hand on her knee. He was suddenly a lot closer than she thought he was, and when she opened her eyes she saw only his face, because it was hovering so close to hers though the closed space her legs made up that it blocked out everything else.

He smiled crookedly a little, and she thought it was because she was gawking at him (eyes wide, mouth open).

"You okay?" he asked, rubbing her knee a little.

Namine nodded weakly, too caught up in his beautiful face to think straight like she always was when she got a good look at him, when she wasn't avoiding him.

Almost unconsciously she reached out and stroked his face, running the back of her hand along his cheek as he just stared, not seeming to realize himself. And then suddenly he grabbed her hand. His arm moved so fast that Namine thought he might be just slapping it away. But he held it firmly, still up against his cheek. He inhaled deeply, and his sweet breath (always smelling the same – like coffee and maybe something else – a sent Namine had come to know very well) tickled her nose, warm and relaxing.

And then he was swiftly on his feet, the warmth leaving Namine's hand as he let go. Namine looked up at him, watching, as he ran a quick hand through his silver hair. He exhaled noisily, his shoulders slumping back a little. And then he looked at her again, his eyes suddenly lighting up.

"Hey, uh," he started, bending his knees and leaning in a little, "I have to go but I swear, I'll be righ-"

"No!" namine panicked, her voice a little higher in pitch than she expected. She grabbed onto him, his held again, and held on so tight she could almost feel the bone against bone as Riku winced. "No, don't leave." _Don't leave alone. _

She was shocked at herself. When he'd mentioned leaving it was like an impulse to just grab him. A feeling bubbled up in her chest – hurt. "I'll be right back," Riku promised, squeezing her hand back a little, though it probably hurt, in an effort to calm her, "_Right _back."

Namine swallowed, took a deep breath, and let go of his hand. He wiggled his fingers a little, stretching them.

He stared at her for one more short moment, and then sighed – probably at the pathetic look that was plastered across Namine's face. He pushed her hair out of her face and kissed her forehead after a short moment of hesitation, and then reached for her hand once more and squeezed it before releasing softly and rising again. "_Right _back," he repeated, and then was gone.

**000**

Riku was back before Namine had even gotten up, what couldn't be more than fifteen minutes. He seemed hasty when he was back, though, like he was in some kind of a hurry.

He didn't bother knocking on the door. He came right in and found Namine where he'd left her. Namine jumped to her feet as soon as she saw him, and he was going so fast that he almost slammed into her. He grabbed both her hands quickly when she put them up to shield herself from impact (not realizing just how fast he was coming at her) and they stumbled backwards a few feet.

"Hey," he breathed, catching his breath.

"What's going on?" Namine asked, and Riku was already dragging her along in tow by hand to her room. He slowed a little, and as they reached the bottom of the stairs Namine asked again, "what're you doing?"

"Pack your bags," he said simply, calmly now. So casually, like he asked her to pack up and leave every day.

"Why-"

"Just trust me."

Namine didn't even have to look at him to know that he was serious. And that she really could trust him, just like she probably should have before.

She hurried over to her closet and grabbed a small case and set it on the floor, beginning to stuff it with random pieces of clothing (mostly light T-shirts). Riku walked in and shook his head, rummaging through the back of the closet till he came out with a much, much larger suit case. "No, this one," Riku said, and 

then began stuffing it himself with the essentials such as jeans and socks. Namine stared at him, wondering.

After just five minutes he began trying to close the now ridiculously overstuffed duffel bag. He pulled at the zipper harder, finally getting it to close. He huffed, exhaling noisily, and then looking at Namine who continued to stare, cocking an eyebrow when they made eye contact.

Riku stood and hoisted the bag strap over his shoulder and he pointed at Namine's smaller bag as he walked back into the bedroom. "Take that one, too," he almost commanded.

Namine didn't move. "Okay, seriously. What's going on?"

"Trust me," Riku repeated. He headed straight for the stairs saying no more, leaving Namine slightly irritated. But she dealed, because she found herself somewhat in her right mind when she was distracted.

She closed the case and carried it back to the living room, right behind Riku. Namine spotted a big, white truck parked outside her house and stopped next to the coffee table, feeling like an idiot. This was ridiculous. "Where are we going?"

Riku sighed loudly, spinning around and dropping the heavy duffel bag to his feet. He rotated his shoulder in small circled while he made direct eye contact with Namine, holding her gaze firmly.

"I'm not kidnapping you, I promise," he said, speaking slowly because Namine took a step back, a little worried, though she knew Riku would do nothing to hurt her.

"Just tell me where you're planning on taking me," Namine ordered, trying to be firm while his eyes practically consumed her, minty and glossy and absolutely breathtaking as they were. She felt her knees weaken.

"_That,_" he started, raising his eyebrows for emphasis, "is a surprise."

"Why am I bringing my entire closet with me?"

Riku paused to think, choosing his words. "We're not coming back."

Namine gawked at him. "_What? _I'm not-"

Riku held his hand up to silence her. "Trust me," he repeated, yet again, and Namine shut up but folded her arms stubbornly, "I wanted to see my mom before summer ended. But she lives way over on the other side of California, so I wouldn't be back until summer was over and I couldn't," Riku paused again, struggling, "I can't leave. I'm not just going to leave you like… _That_."

Namine peered at herself through the mirror hanging over the fireplace out of curiosity. Her eyes were red and puffy, her skin was pale, and the bags under her eyes were such a dark shade of purple that it looked like she hadn't gotten sleep in years. The makeup that she hadn't managed to wipe off was smeared, and she truly did look messed up. Big time.

Riku, again, had managed to get closer without Namine noticing. When she saw him now in front of her in the mirror, she turned her head back and flinched as he lifted a hand to her cheek. He caressed it with his thumb and looked even more serious than before. "So I thought you could come with me. And, I mean it's not like you have anything here left for you anyways. If I were you I'd want to get out. Just go somewhere and leave it all behind you." He lifted her chin up a little, coaxing. "You know that sounds good. Just come with me."

In all honesty, that did sound good. _Really_ good. But she couldn't just up and leave. Her father would be worried, he'd call her mom and she'd be infuriated, and then she'd be in hell when she got home just before September. She'd get fired for not showing up at work and to top it all off people would probably be looking for them all over the town and when she returned next summer she'd be forever know as the irresponsible girl that runs away from her problems with boys. Not an image she was trying to portray.

"That's absurd. I can't just leave. Normal people don't just leave." Namine pushed Riku's hand away, as much as it hurt.

"It'll be good for you. A long road trip along the beach, fresh air, the wind in your hair and –"

"Riku, stop." Namine swallowed, wishing she could just give in like that. Like everything was just that simple. Trying not to think about how running away would probably, most likely feel that good and _more_.

Riku just continued on, finishing his sentence, "and it'll be just you and me."

Namine's heart stuttered to a stop. She couldn't breathe with him so close again, his hand returning to her cheek. She'd heard of this somewhere before – dazzling people. She couldn't help but absorb the full affect his eyes had on her, soft and warm and making her knees even weaker than they already where.

"Please. If you won't do this for yourself, do it for me," He just stared at her, seemingly frozen in time, as Namine stared back, memorizing every feature, every angle, every strand of silver hair that fell over his face so she could embed it into her mind forever. So she'd always have this picture to look back on. Hers.

His eyes sparkled, the most beautiful shade of mint, glossy and making her breath catch. She bit the insides of her cheeks, trying to ignore the fluttering in her stomach that was slowly rising to her chest, making it ache. Ache for the man so close to her, the man she needed. The one that had been through it all with her, had been so gentle and loving. He hadn't ever once given up on her truly, like she knew he had good reason to. And what was more was that he needed her back. Riku, fitting to be a God, more gorgeous than any human should have the right to be, needed her. _Her_. And when he already had so many other girls chasing him around begging him for attention.

Namine took a deep breath. She couldn't believe she was actually _considering _running away. "But my father-"

"I wrote a note and put it on the table already. Don't worry, I even asked him not to call the police." Namine could detect the sarcasm, but ignored it.

"Why are you in such a hurry?"

Riku sighed, impatient. "Sora's looking for me. He thinks I'm crazy." He shook his head, like he just couldn't understand.

"You _are_ crazy," Namine said, and tried to swallow the laughter that bubbled in her throat.

There was a moment of silence. Riku grabbed her hand, squeezing it, pleading. And then Namine couldn't resist anymore. And maybe he was right. Maybe she _did _need this.

Without saying a word she grabbed her bag, taking a deep breath, closing her eyes, and nodding once. "Just-"she paused, "Just hurry and get me away from here before I change my mind."

Riku grinned, almost laughing, but did as he was told. In a blur the duffel bag was over his shoulder again and he was walking out the front door, his hand still wrapped around hers.

**000**

Namine was questioning her sanity as Riku's truck sputtered farther and farther away from her town's boundary lines. After making a quick stop at a gas station they were off into the endless stretch of high way overlooking the ocean.

Namine took a deep breath and closed her eyes as they passed a big sign that read "_You are now leaving emerald beach_" and turned her head away from it, pressing her cheek to the window. Her knees were pulled up to her chest awkwardly as Riku rolled down his window and laughed. The wind blew through his hair as Riku threw his head back, hardly paying attention to the road at all. It was apparent to Namine that he'd already lost it, long before her.

Riku's hand came down heavy on Namine's shoulder, and she peaked up at him through her crossed arms. "We're free!" he beamed, emphasizing the word free by letting go of the wheel and throwing his arms up while his knees did the steering (poorly, at that).

Namine groaned. "Riku! Put your hands back on the wheel!"

"Relax," Riku stretched out one arm for the wheel and put his other hand on Namine's knee. "Take a deep breath and try to smile for once. This is exactly why I'm taking you with me."

Namine glared at him, trying to ignore his devastatingly sexy grin. Her chest ached. "What are you talking about?"

"Namine, you're curled up in a ball against the door of my truck."

Namine un-curled herself and ignored this. "I'm fine. Really. I'm fine."

"No, you're not."

Namine intensified her glare, straining her eyes. Riku's silver hair blew in his face, hiding his eyes for a moment and then they were visible again, shining brightly in the glare of the summer sun.

She couldn't breathe until she looked away.

"I win," Riku chuckled, and Namine made a good effort to kick him.

**000**

Another hour and Namine couldn't take the heat on her side of the car. She rolled down the window and stuck her head out, feeling the breeze all around her, blowing her hair back and everywhere, and she closed her eyes.

Riku had been driving in silence for the last half hour, sticking to the side of the beach so it was always visible. The highway they were on was on land that was elevated from the beach, so their view was over a steep cliff.

A few more hours later and the sun began its journey down the sky and into the ocean. Namine wished she could watch the sunset without having to look past Riku first. He stared straight ahead, not noticing her for the longest time as her eyes gazed past him.

Despite the beauty of the landscape around her and the cool wind in her face, Namine a still didn't manage to find peace. She wondered if her father had gotten home and seen the note yet, and if the police were already after then (but Riku had told her over and over again that that would not happen). But besides all this it was really the pang Namine felt deep in her stomach. She just couldn't let it go, being the kind of person to over-think things.

Riku looked at her then, out of the corner of his eye. He smiled, but Namine hadn't paid attention. She stared ahead, into space, deep in thought. Riku snapped his fingers in front of her face, zapping her back. "Hey, you," Riku chuckled, driving one-handed again, "I need you back on Earth with me."

Namine shook her head and sat upright, folding her arms tight against her chest. "Sorry," she mumbled, staring at her feet. She took a deep breath, curling her toes and closing her eyes.

Riku patted her shoulder. "Relax, for once. I swear, you're so uptight."

"I am not-"

Riku just stared at her, and Namine cut herself off mid-sentence. So what if she was a little stressed? She had the right to feel what she wanted to.

Riku focused on the road again, sighing lightly. It was getting late and it was apparent that he was tired. Before Namine could say anything, though, he broke the silence himself.

Riku pulled out of the highway and into the parking lot of a small hotel, parking right next to the front doors. "We should stop for the night." He didn't wait for Namine's opinion on his decision as he hopped out of the truck and locked his door, barely waiting for her as he pulled a heavy door open for himself.

"Riku, wait," Namine half-jogged to catch up with him, shrugging her sweater on to guard her skin from the night's chill. "I can drive while you sleep. We're still too close to home."

"Just relax," Riku repeated. "Eventually you'll get tired too and, as luck would have it, there won't be a hotel in sight."

"We'll pull up next to the beach and just sleep in the truck."

"I won't make you do that." Riku stopped, holding the door open. Te lady at check-out stared, cocking an eyebrow as he just stood there in the doorway.

"Riku, you're not being-"

"C'mon. I'll drag you in if I have to." Riku exhaled noisily, serious. He always seemed so much more serious at night than his usual happy-go-lucky self in the daytime.

Namine almost stomped her foot. "Fine," Namine hissed, checking the road behind her just to make sure her father wasn't following them, as if he could catch up that fast. She knew that she honestly, deep down, didn't really care, but the excuse of getting caught was all she had left. Ridiculously, she held onto it even as she marched inside, shrugging off Riku's hand when he put it on her shoulder.

**000**

"One room," Riku said to the lady at the desk, and she handed him a set of keys as he paid her.

"_One_?" Namine scowled, but Riku ignored her.

She stalked up the stairs behind him and through a couple hallways until they reached their room. There was a _click _as the door unlocked and opened, revealing a small room with tan wall-paper and dark carpet. The one bed (Namine shuttered) was queen sized and had a stack of blankets neatly folded by it on the floor. There was a little TV that got no signal as Riku threw himself on the bed and grabbed the remote, and a cooler under the TV stand that had a few sodas waiting inside. Other than that there wasn't much else but an end-table with a phone attached and a lamp in the far corner of the room that seemed slightly out of place.

Namine sat on the edge of the bed, as far away from Riku as possible, and just stared out the window as she played with her thumbs nervously. Riku turned the TV off, disappointed in it, and rested his head back on the pillow, not really looking at her as he spoke.

"You know, I'll sleep on the floor if you want me to. It's not that big of a deal." He leaned his head in Namine's direction bit kept his eyes on the ceiling as he folded his hands on his chest.

"I won't make you sleep on the floor."

"No, really, it's-"

"You paid."

"That doesn't matter. You're not comf-"

"Riku," Namine shifted her gaze from the window to him, straining her neck a little as the rest of her body faced away from him. She caught his gaze and held it, trying to ignore the way his eyes electrified her.

There was a long silence until Namine stood, folding her arms with her back still faced to Riku, unsure.

"You know, if this is about Roxas I thought you and him were o-"

"This isn't about Roxas."

Another long pause. Then, "So what is it, then?"

"What?" Namine asked, turning towards him a little so she could just barely see the shine of his silver hair out of the corner of her eye.

"What are you waiting for? I'm right here, Namine. Roxas is gone." Riku sat up, restraining himself painfully from reaching out to touch her. He closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling, and then exhaling, before repeating, "_I'm right here_." And then he did reach for her, but she stepped just out of his reach, fully facing him now with an unfathomable expression played out on her face.

Namine narrowed her eyes, which held back tears, "Is that all I am? An object? Once Roxas is out of the picture you just expect me to-"

"No. No! That's not what I-"Riku dug his hands through his hair, and then buried his face in them as his legs hung off the side of the bed. "I'm sorry."

Namine hated herself right now. She just went around hurting everyone these days. Not just herself but Riku, too. She didn't even bother to apologize herself. She was too ashamed. She sat on the opposite side of the bed from him, their backs facing once more. It seemed as though there was nothing else to say for the time being.

The tears rolled down Namine's cheeks silently, and she just sat there steaming in it all. The regret, the guilt, the worry, and a million other emotions. Her head hurt and she felt more tired than ever, but too tense to sleep.

Riku groaned, rubbing his hands together and leaning his body towards hers. "Hey," he started, swallowing, "I need some fresh air. I'm going to go walk down to the beach, if you want to come."

Fresh air sounded nice, Namine thought. She nodded weakly, hiding her face from him as she wiped under her eyes, hoping she didn't smudge her makeup. Riku got up and walked around the bed, extending a hand out for her but Namine helped herself up. So Riku just shoved his empty hands in his 

pockets and wandered out the door, making sure to lock it before he followed Namine to the creaky staircase. The hotel seemed too old to have special locks that were un-locked and locked by inserting a card into a slot next to the door knob.

The two kept their distance as they left the hotel, nodding at the lady behind the front desk as they left. They crossed the road carefully and found a pathway that lead safely down to the beach. The stars glittered blindingly bright in the nighttime sky as Riku's sandals hit the sand. He kicked them off immediately. The cool sand felt good in-between his toes. Namine was already halfway down the beach. Her own sandals were already thrown randomly to the side as she ran towards the ocean. It was dark blue – almost black – as Namine stepped in. The water went up to her ankles, teasing her skin as it flowed backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards.

She let out a deep breath, trying to let the crisp air relax her as it filled her lungs, refreshing. Riku stayed back on the beach as Namine dug her feet into the wet sand. He watched her, hands still in pockets. He bit the insides of his cheeks, waiting for her to move or say something but she didn't. She just stood there. Riku stared at the water beneath her, losing himself in her wavering reflection. The stars continued to glisten in the background, unaware and at piece.

Slowly, Riku moved forward and stood next to Namine, staring ahead at the moon just like she was. A chilly breeze pushed her blonde hair in random directions, hiding half her face. Her eyes were illuminated, though, bright and blue. Riku stole glances at her and she didn't notice, absorbed in the scenery. Riku felt bad for her – how confused she looked. Her lips formed a frustrated line, as if she was scolding the moon silently and her eyes narrowed, hiding too much of the color in her pretty eyes. From the beginning of summer Namine had made it clear that she obviously didn't know how gorgeous she really was.

Riku felt like he was standing in the middle of a story book. The scenery was picturesque and beautiful, and Namine was stunning even through her frustration. He felt an intense urge to reach out to her again, to caress her arm. He held back, biting his tongue.

And then he couldn't take it anymore. He had to say something. Anything. "Namine?"

Namine looked at him suddenly, surprised by his presence that she hadn't noticed before. She blinked, and then stared at her feet – or as much of them as she could see. "Mmm?" she hummed, rubbing her arms to warm them.

"You okay?" Riku asked, touching her arm and then lowering it when she flinched.

"Fine."

"You look cold." He mused, shrugging inside his sweater.

"Maybe a little." Namine's voice was monotone. She still gazed at her feet, wiggling her toes a little. It was an oddly cold night for a summer night. In California. She was practically frozen in her denim shorts and deep red AE tank.

Within a fraction of a second Riku's sweater was wrapped around her shoulders and she was staring at him again, and he was staring back, eyes locked. His minty eyes were so deep as he touched her arm again, and then just rested his hand on her shoulder for a long moment as they just stared at each other.

"Thanks," she almost stuttered, choking. He was so gorgeous she could hardly breathe.

Riku withdrew. He shoved his hands in his pockets again. "Welcome," he muttered. He wasn't used to being so serious. It tired him and he groaned inside, searching for something else to say. And then he bend down, and ran his fingers through the water as he thought of something.

Namine stared at him, curious. Riku looked up at her, and asked, "you want to know something Roxas really hated?"

"Not really." Namine shook her head, making a face. Riku grinned, and dipped his whole hand into the freezing salt water, then pushing it forward fast so a spray of water flew at Namine, splashing at her legs and soaking her shorts.

Namine looked at him in horror, catching her breath at how cold the water was on her bare skin. "Riku!" she croaked, infuriated. "What the _hell_?!"

"He hated when I did that. Whenever we went to the beach I'd throw him into the ocean and watch him scream, which was funny because he deserves it."

Namine ignored him completely. She widened her eyes at her wet legs, trembling with cold. Her face was red and hot as anger bubbled up in her chest and she clenched her fists, hungry for revenge. "How _dare _you!"

Riku laughed, which made Namine even crazier with anger. She breathed heavily through her teeth and grimaced, about ready to attack him, gorgeous or not. She swung her leg back and kicked just as much water as him as he had splashed at her and then some. And then she was crouching down, throwing more and more water at him, aiming for nothing in general, driven by fury.

Riku continued to laugh and splashed back, tumbling deeper and deeper into the water until they were both waist deep and soaking. What had started out as war turned into the most fun Namine had had in what seemed like forever as water flew and sprayed everywhere. She laughed with him, trying to catch her breath that she was quickly losing as they kept at it, until Riku stopped and shielded himself, trying to catch his own breath.

"Stop!" he chuckled, stumbling back a little. Namine jumped on him, and his head went under the ice cold water and stayed there until Riku pushed Namine's hand from off his head and he resurfaced, panting. He snickered as he tried to get away, failing to make his way back to the dry sand as Namine yanked him back, trying to dunk his head again.

She succeeded and laughed, shouting, "Take that, asshole!"

"Jesus, Namine, give me two second to breathe!" Riku chocked as he resurfaced again, trying to push her away as he cracked up with more laughter. He could hardly see her through all the water that was flying through the air.

"Die!" she shrieked, trying to free her arms that Riku had in a death grip, holding her away from him as he tried to catch his breath. He looked up at her through his wet eyelashes. Water rolled down his face, dripping off his nose and chin.

And then, catching Namine off guard, he let her go and was splashing with just as much fury as she had before. He laughed manically, pushing her back towards the beach as she shielded herself now, trying to escape. She smiled and hid her face as she turned away from him and ran, water flying everywhere as she pushed her legs through the water. "Hey, get back here!" Riku shouted after her, catching up right before Namine reached the beach again.

He latched onto sweater, pulling her back but accidentally knocking her to the ground. He tumbled down with her, rolling over and grunting as his knees hit the ground with a thump, missing hitting Namine by a fraction of an inch. He fell on top of her, knocking the breath out of both of them.

Namine just continued to laugh as Riku tried to process what had just happened, and then he was laughing too. They stayed like that for the longest time until the laughter died down and they just laid there, frozen, Riku hovering over Namine.

Then it was so silent, so still. No one even began to move or put any distance between them as they realized just how close they were; wet skin to wet skin.

Riku just stared at her, seemingly frozen in time, as Namine stared back, memorizing every feature, every angle, every strand of silver hair that fell over his face so she could embed it into her mind forever. So she'd always have this picture to look back on. Hers.

His eyes sparkled, the most beautiful shade of mint, glossy and making her breath catch all over again. She bit the insides of her cheeks, trying to ignore the fluttering in her stomach that was slowly rising to her chest, making it ache.

"Sorry," Riku whispered under his breath, but didn't move. Namine just nodded, weakly, stunned.

"Th-that's okay," she stuttered, head spinning.

The way Riku looked at her made Namine crave to kiss him. She fought against it, still latched onto the pain she might never let go of. She felt so weak, so sick at that very moment.

Her chest ached for Riku - so close to her, the man she needed. The one that had been through it all with her, had been so gentle and loving. He hadn't ever once given up on her truly, like she knew he had good reason to.

"I should be the sorry one," Namine muttered under her breath, smacking herself mentally. And then Riku's hand was on her cheek, soft and light as he caressed it with his thumb. He'd made it obvious since 

the beginning of summer, so blindingly obvious, that he liked her a lot. But it was more than just that now, they both could tell.

Not only did Namine need him, as much as she was reluctant to admit, but Riku needed her back. Riku, fitting to be a God, more gorgeous than any human should ever have the right to be, needed her. _Her_.

A million pictures of his face flashed through her head simultaneously, each one more and more blindingly beautiful. This whole summer had been a wild goose chase as Namine tried to make the '_right_' decision, fighting against what she knew she really wanted. She closed her eyes tight, tensing, her mouth forming a hard line as she tried to fight off all the painful memories of the torture she put herself through. All of the torture she didn't have to go through. It still stung to think about how Roxas cheated on her, after everything she went through. How stupid she had been to trust him instead of Riku, who had shown her more compassion in two months than Roxas had in three years.

"Namine?" he asked, staring attentively at her. "Are you okay?"

His minty eyes glowed bright, vivid even in the dark.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she just kissed him right here, right now, Namine thought. Maybe that was the key to letting go – giving in.

Namine swallowed hard, and then reached up, running a hand through his damp hair. He caught her hand, holding it in his firmly, and stared at her, waiting for a response. She held his hand back and bit her lower lip, unsure of what to say. Or if she'd even made her decision.

"Namine?" he asked again, lowering his head closer to hers until their noses were almost touching. They were breathing the same air, staring so intensely at each other. Riku pressed his chest to hers, closing even more distance.

Namine's eyes fluttered half shut as she reached up and rested her hand on the back of his neck, surprised at how much his skin burned under her touch. His wet hair stuck to the back of her hand.

Riku's nose brushed past hers as he tilted his head a little, fitting his face closer. Their foreheads touched.

And then suddenly, Riku froze. "Crap," he muttered.

Namine's eyes opened wide, and she made a face as he pulled away enough to reach into the pockets of his sweater that was still on Namine. "Damnit," he cursed, rolling over next to her and burying his hands in his face. "That's just perfect."

"_What_?" Namine asked, thinking of how this was the perfect moment for a crises (whatever it was) to come up.

"The card," Riku mumbled, scowling at himself. "The f'ing card!"

Namine raised her eyebrows, puzzled. "What card? I have no idea what you're-"

"It's the key to our room," Riku explained, cutting her off. He groaned, sitting up and shaking the water out of his hair before getting to his feet. Fists clenched and teeth bared, hardly paying attention to Namine as she stared, dumbfounded, he practically screamed into the night, "_I lost the God damn card_!" Inside, he was beating the crap out of himself.

The previous moment was forgotten, flying off somewhere in space, as Namine jumped to her feet. "You lost ourkey?" she cried, kicking sand at him. "Our _key_?"

Riku ignored her, back turned, and continued to curse at himself. "Shit," he muttered, his fists hiding his face as he talked into them, "shit, shit, _shiiiiit_."

"Riku!" Namine yelled, enraged. What a way to ruin the night even more! "Where the hell are we supposed to sleep?!" she kicked even more sand at him.

Riku faced her, eyes shut tight and grimacing. "I don't know, Namine." He was blunt; trying not to explode at her while he exploded at himself. "I don't know!"

"This is just great. Great!" Namine threw in an extra 'great' for emphasis as she threw her hands into the air. "What are we supposed to do now?"

Riku opened his eyes, shifting his gave to the ground so he wasn't glaring right at her. His eyes were narrowed and livid, and his face was seven different shades of red. "God, Namine, maybe we'll sleep in the truck. You didn't have a problem with it before!"

"Hey! Don't get mad at _me_!" Namine hissed, glowering, "_I _didn't lose the key!"

Riku didn't say anything else to her. Instead, he began his way back up the beach, not waiting for her to follow, back towards the hotel. Namine scowled, taking heavy steps behind him, not bothering to catch up. They marched across the street without looking for cars and the door to the hotel practically slammed in Namine's face right before she reached it, Riku now inside, asking the lady at the front desk something.

Namine bit her lip and just stood there, steaming, for a moment until she was ready to be in the same building as Riku. He was unbelievable!

"You have no other key?" Riku was asking, pleading, the lady. "the key I lost was the only one? How am I supposed to get inside?"

The lady shrugged, called the manager after Riku asked for the millionth time, only to tell him that there was really nothing she could do at the moment. Riku sighed and walked back outside.

The lady shifted her gaze to Namine, who mouthed 'sorry' for Riku before following him out, still glaring.

"What hotel has only one copy of a key?" Riku was asking himself as he stood below their 2nd-story window, staring up at it in dismay.

Namine tried to tune him out, thinking of other things to calm herself down. She took deep breaths and crossed her arms, leaning against Riku's truck to relax. She was freezing, soaked to the bone (which had gotten her several looks from the locals out this late) and shivered. Her clothes stuck to her skin uncomfortably.

"There's gotta be some way to get in that room," Riku was saying, rubbing his hands together as he felt along the wall. Then he paused for a moment, hunching his shoulders. "Namine?" he asked, turning his head slightly towards her.

"What?" Namine asked, digging her nails into her arms as they tightened across her chest. "What could it possibly be now?"

"The window's not _that_ high up…" Riku had a look on his face like he was trying to work something out. Namine cocked an eyebrow at him, waiting.

"What are you getting at?" she asked, impatient.

Riku exhaled noisily, rubbing his hands together. "Maybe if you stood on my shoulders…"

"No," Namine snapped, thinking of her fear of heights. She shuttered at the thought of trying to open a two story window while standing on Riku's shoulders.

"C'mon," Riku groaned, desperate, "I won't let you fall. I swear."

"No," Namine repeated, serious.

Riku tried again. "Please?"

This went on for another half hour until Namine gave up. It was freezing, and she was tired and wet. A warm bed, even if she had to share it with Riku (who she couldn't stand to look at right now – despite his sexiness even in times like this) sounded so luxurious right now.

Riku hoisted her onto his shoulders, slowly as Namine trembled, staring at her hopefully with big eyes that's he ignored. Her hands could just barely reach the lock. Stretching her arm out, she unlocked the window and pushed it open, wobbling to the side a little but Riku leaned the other way, straightening her again.

She latched onto the window seal with both hands and tried to lift herself inside. Riku stood on his toes to help her out a little, pushing up on her feet a little with his hands. This only freaked Namine out and she practically kicked his head. Not looking down, she tried one more time, pushing on the window seal with her hands and pulling herself halfway through the window in an uncomfortable position. Her stomach scraped across the frame as she dragged herself inside, and then finally, she fell to the floor.

She sighed, relived that it was all over, as Riku cheered outside. "See if there's some way to unlock the door from inside!" he insisted, but Namine looked out the window at him and shook her head.

"Oh, no," she smiled, ready for revenge. "I climbed through this window, so you're going to do the same."

Riku just stared at her. "Namine."

Namine rolled her eyes and walked over to the door, flipping on the light and examining all around the frame. She found a little green and red button, pressed the green, and the door made a clicking noise. She shoved the door open and called for Riku out the window, who made it inside and up the stairs within seconds.

Without bothering to say thank you, he rushed over to his duffel bag for dry clothes and locked himself in the bathroom. Namine just stood there, arms folded. "Thanks, Riku," she mumbled. She walked into the center of the room and peered at the digital clock on top of the TV. It was almost 12:30 am.

What a disaster, Namine thought.

Riku appeared from the bathroom then, his hair still damp but the rest of his body was dry. He had on a pair of A & F sweats on and a simple T-shirt that was a deep red and clung to his skin in the right places, while loose in other places. Like it was made to make girls like Namine drool.

She tried not to look at him as he stopped and looked at her, eyes wide, like he just realized something. "Oh…" He swallowed, looking Namine up and down, who was _still_ shivering. "I'm sorry."

"That's okay," namine grabbed a pair of cotton AE shorts and a fresh tank top, brushing past him and closing the bathroom door behind her. She took a dry towel off the rack and dried her skin off before she shrugged into her clean clothes. She gathered up all her blonde hair in her hands and squeezed out the water over the sink. She threw it up in a messy ponytail and rubbed her face, yawning, happy to at least be warm again and in dry clothing.

Riku was sprawled out across the bed when she returned, and she froze, breath catching. She closed her eyes forcefully, which was what she was used to doing. Even though she didn't have a boyfriend anymore, or anything of the sort besides Riku, it still felt weird to even look at him for too long a period of time. Especially when he was laying across a bed just big enough for the two of them, silver hair everywhere, silver eyes fixed on the TV that was apparently working now.

Tired, she eased herself next to him, under the blankets, and faced her back to him, trying not to shutter. It only made her feel even more awkward that Riku was so at ease.

After ten minutes of just laying there, it was apparent that Namine wasn't going to get asleep until Riku was asleep first. She got up, making her side of the bed, and sitting on the blankets instead, trying to relax into them as Riku continued to watch the TV, unmoving.

"Are you hungry?" Riku asked suddenly, and Namine flinched. When she said nothing, he tried again. "You hungry?"

Namine didn't even think it over. "No," she replied quietly, tucking some hair behind one ear.

"Oh," Riku said casually, as if nothing had gone wrong today and he was totally at ease. Same old Riku. "I was just wondering, because we didn't stop for lunch on the way out and haven't had dinner so…"

Now that Namine thought about it, she was pretty hungry. It was just hard to remember to eat regularly when she was hung up over everything. She put a hand over her stomach, which grumbled in reply. She wondered if Riku heard that. "Uh, well… I guess I could eat something," she blushed, a little embarrassed at her bodily functions.

Namine stopped breathing when Riku rolled over towards her, reached his toned, sexy arm over her head, and grabbed the phone (which was cordless, thank you Jesus). He returned to his position on his own side of the bed and dialed something on the phone, holding it to his ear for a moment. He nudged Namine with his elbow. "What do you want?" he asked.

Namine shrugged, still red, unable to think of anything. "I don't care. Surprise me."

Twenty minutes later and there was probably the whole country's supply of food sprawled out across the bed in front of them. Riku had taken it upon himself to order everything that sounded somewhat appetizing on the menu. Namine reminded him that he was paying for everything. He simply shrugged and went on with stuffing his face.

With bags under her eyes and exhaustion in her limbs, namine picked at her food slowly, trying to stay awake. The need for sleep was far more intense than her need for food.

"Mmm." Riku hummed, mouth full of lasagna. Apparently, it was his favorite, since he'd finished that off first. Namine watched him, hardly paying attention to her buttery noodles. She spun her fork around in them, over and over, until Namine's stomach grumbled again and she stuffed them in her mouth, chewing slowly, still watching Riku in amazement. How boys could eat so much in one sitting, she would never know…

When Riku was finished, and Namine had lost her appetite, they called someone in to pick up all their dirty dishes and replace the blankets and sheets (Riku had gotten greasy food all over _everything_). Once they were alone again, Riku threw himself in the exact middle of the bed with both hands covering his stomach – which still looked toned and sexy despite the fact that he was pretty much bloated from all the eating – and groaned.

"I told you to slow down," Namine gave him a look, waiting for him to scoot over. He didn't. All he did was groan some more.

"It was so worth it," he smiled through his pain. "Every last mouth full."

"And the fifty dollars?" Namine crossed her arms, rolling her eyes.

"That too."

Namine waited a few more seconds, sighed, and then pushed Riku out of the way herself. She was too tired to care if he was in the same bed with her or not. All she wanted to do was sleep. Riku moved out of her way obediently.

Namine sank under the fresh blankets and into the sheets, taking in the typical smell of a hotel bed. It was refreshing after the long truck ride here, both her and Riku smelling like sweat all day. Namine buried her head in the pillow and took a deep breath, relaxing into a comfortable position before shutting her eyes. Namine had almost completely forgotten Riku's presence by then (imagine that) so when he spoke she nearly jumped to the moon.

"Namine…?"

Namine waited for her heart rate to go back to normal before she replied. "Mmmmm?"

"Sleep tight." He sounded sincere, which made Namine feel bad. Her chest had been aching all day long, always on cue with the sound of his voice when things got quiet.

There was a long pause where nobody said anything. Namine squeezed her eyes shut tight, wishing for sleep to come quickly and free her from all this stupid torture.

"Goodnight, Riku."

**000**

Rays of sunlight poured through the window, painting patterns on the white sheets. Namine drifted back slowly, peacefully, not quite ready to wake up. She stretched out, feeling no one laying next to her, and sighed to herself. The sigh turned into a yawn as she rolled over and rubbed her eyes weekly and lazily. She waited for the blur to turn into a clear image as she opened her eyes before sitting up and stretching some more.

Namine set her feet on the ground and ambled over to the bathroom, still oblivious to anything that had happened before the moment she woke up. It was always like this for her in the mornings – her brain took an extraordinary time getting up to speed. The cluelessness couldn't last forever, though.

Namine looked at herself in the mirror and sighed. Just in the corner of the mirror she could see Riku outside the bathroom door, leaning against the wall, just staring at her. He'd been up hours before, she guessed.

"'Morning." He said, quietly but just loud enough for Namine to hear.

Namine nodded in reply, and went on with brushing her teeth and hair. Riku stayed put, just staring. Namine didn't know if he was waiting for her to be ready to leave or if he was just watching for the heak of it. Finally, in the middle of putted her hair up in another sloppy pony tail, she turned towards him and asked, quite coldly, "_what?_"

Riku shook his head. "Nothing."

Namine brushed past him on the way to her suit case that was rested next to the odd lamp. She picked out a pair of while Hollister shorts and then walked back into the bathroom, shutting the door, and put them on. She decided she was fine wearing her white tank top, since nobody but Riku was going to see her and he'd already seen her worst.

The door creaked open as Namine leaned closer to the mirror, grabbing a tube of mascara and some eye liner. Riku stopped her, touching her arm right before the eyeliner hit her bottom eyelid. Namine gave him a look that made him know that she could've pocked her eye out.

"Come on, let's just go." He urged, throwing her navy blue flip flops on the tiled floor next to her feet.

Namine looked at her eye liner, then back up at Riku.

"You don't need it," Riku said, the tips of his fingers lingering on her arm. "Trust me." Then he grinned, oh so sexily. "The natural look suits you."

Namine ignored him, trying not to blush. She pushed his hand away slipped her feet into her shoes, grabbed her bag, and then they left the hotel. Riku piled all their stuff into the back of the truck and then waved at the lady behind the desk as he backed out of the parking space and drove into the highway, disappearing into the distance.

**000**

Riku drove a steady speed of ten miles over the speed limit. He didn't even notice as they drove smoothly down the highway, which was empty for the most part. Namine guessed that it was maybe 7 am in the morning.

They were on day two of their trip, and Riku had said at a gas station (where he bought another map while he was paying 60 dollars for gas) that they were about halfway there. Namine wondered just how far his mother lived.

Namine had taken it upon herself while Riku was filling up the tank to give her father a call. She envisioned him in her mind, worried sick, and twitched a little as she shoved a few quarters into a pay phone and dialed his cell number. She was hoping that he was busy with work so she could just leave a message but, much to her disappointment, he picked up on the first ring.

"_Hello_?" he sounded hopeful, like he'd been waiting for her to call.

"So have you called the police or what?" namine said.

"_Namine_!" he yelled, going into dad mode. Namine held the phone away from her ear for a moment as he dad shrieked into the phone. "_I was so worried! I haven't slept or ate since I got home from work with that note sitting on my table. What has gotten into your head!? I probably should've called the police, you're so irresponsible_!"

"No, please, don't. I'm just going with Riku to see his mom-"

"_How could you just leave like that? I must be one horrible father if you have the nerve to just_-"

"Dad. Stop." Namine felt a pang of guilt. She hated it when he blamed himself. "I just needed to get away for a while."

"_Get away from what? It sounds like you're just running away with that _Riku-" he said his name with disgust, "_you know how I feel about him. And Roxas – I wonder what he'll thi_-"

"Dad, that's not your business. And Roxas and I are…" Namine trailed off, trying not to think about it. The memories of that night still stung.

"_Oh no_," her father picked up what she was putting down instantly, "_You don't mean_…?"

Namine sighed. "Look, I really don't want to talk about it. Riku and I have to get going anyways, so-"

"_Did he catch you cheating on him_?"

Namine's mouth fell open, and a stabbing pain lingered at the bottom of her stomach. "_Dad_?" She could hardly believe him. Already tears started to swell in her eyes, threatening. Before she could say anything else Riku was by her side.

"Hey, so, I'm ready when you're –" he stopped, getting a good look at Namine's hurt expression.

"_Namine_?" Her father asked, impatient.

"I have to go," Namine repeated, hung up the phone, and turned around.

She half ran to the truck and climbed into the passenger seat. Riku just stood there outside, a yard or two away from the truck, staring. He had no idea what had just happened but he looked like he couldn't believe her father ether. He took one look at the phone, a hint of confusion in his eyes, and made his way to sit next to namine.

He turned the keys in the ignition and pressed his foot down slowly on the pedal, turning out back into the highway before he said anything.

There was a long silence as Riku got up to speed. And then he sighed, taking a look at Namine, who was curled into a ball, leaning against the door with her face pressed into the window. Her eyes were red and puffy. She wasn't crying, but that didn't make Riku feel any better or sound any less concerned when he asked.

"So, what happened?" Riku asked, his tone gentle.

Namine took a deep breath, trying to contain herself. She waited a moment before answering. "My dad. That's what."

Riku gave her a quizzical stare, but she was too busy hiding her face in her arms to notice. "What did he say?"

Namine closed her eyes, holding the tears back. She bit her bottom lip. Hard. She opened her mouth to speak but only a heavy breath escaped. She tried again, "He didn't even give me a chance to explain before he went off accusing me."

Riku didn't say anything. He stared at the road ahead, unsure of what he should say. There was another long silence, until Namine looked up, sniffing, and continued.

"He has it all wrong. He thinks' I'm the one that was cheating-," she paused, took in another deep, ragged breath, and continued, "well, I mean, I did cheat but he said that – oh Jesus! This is so stupid. I didn't want to hurt anyone and at least Roxas didn't _know_ he was cheated on. And I felt so bad about it! All Roxas could say was "it was fun" and I…" Namine whipped her eyes when tears broke through. She couldn't help it, "I feel so dumb. This whole summer was for nothing. Now my father has to go making me feel worse and I-I-I-"she was quickly losing control of herself.

Riku pulled the car over so he could rub her shoulder comfortingly without causing a collision while he was distracted. He watched with dismay as Namine sobbed, head in her knees. He couldn't take it anymore. He hopped out of the truck and walked around to her side and opened the door, putting on foot on the tire so he could reach her – wrap his arms around her. It was all he could do.

Her sobs only got louder as he whispered over and over again that it was going to be okay. No, it wasn't.

"It's never going to end," she sniffed, burying her head into his shirt, soaking it.

Riku shook his head. "You're wrong." He rubbed her back soothingly as she leaned into him, practically shrieking through her tears. Everything that had built up over the whole summer (that she hadn't already cried about – Riku felt so bad for her) came out, drawing them all sorts of attention but they didn't notice.

For now, the whole world was just the two of them.

**000**

When namine had calmed down enough, a good solid hour later (after much soothing words from Riku and sobbing) they were back on the road. Namine was still red and sad, but she had no tears left. So she just sat there while Riku rubbed her leg, one hand on the wheel. She didn't push him away but welcomed his compassionate touch, needing it with every ounce of her strength. It seemed that he was the only one left that really got her and gave a damn, even though he was the beginning of all the trouble.

She drifted off into her own little world for a while as they drove down more and more endless highway. She thought she might be falling asleep as she lost herself in the blue sky outside her window in all the silence.

She sort of woke up again when she felt Riku's hand on hers, squeezing it. She looked at him and his eyes caught hers, locking onto them. He gave her a reassuring look and squeezed her hands again. Namine sighed, taking a deep breath, and nodded. "I'm fine."

He smiled, lacing his fingers and hers. Namine felt her face get red a little and looked back out the window, feeling oddly at ease for the first time in a long while.

**000**

They took a break right before sunset from driving. They parked safely next to the beach (which was level with the highway now) and walked down to the ocean, which felt cool to the touch. Namine splashed some on her face, smiling with satisfaction. It had been so freaking hot in that car all day. Riku stood behind her, hand in his pockets, staring off into the horizon. It felt nice to finally stretch their legs and feel the sand again with their bare feet as they lost their sandals, leaving them by the truck. Namine sat down with her feet in the water and leaned back on her hands, taking in the fresh air. God knows she needed it.

Riku took a seat next to her, rolling up his worn, faded jeans just below his knees. He sat close to Namine, almost to where their thighs brushed, but she didn't mind right now. Her mother had always said that you felt so much better right after a good cry, and Namine was starting to believe her for the first time. She knew that she still felt bad, but for now, it didn't hurt so much. All that mattered was the sand at her feet, the last of the sun's warmth beating down on her face, and the gorgeous boy sitting next to her.

After a long while of admiring the sunset that was just beginning, Riku drew in a breath and craned his head towards Namine. "You feeling better?"

"I'm fine. I told you already." Namine put on a smile for his sake. She opened her big, blue eyes, but stared straight ahead instead of meeting Riku's gaze.

Riku tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear as the wind whipped it free, brushing her cheek with the tips of his fingers. Namine went a little pink. Since her breakdown, he hadn't thought twice about little things like that – like holding her hand in the car as she picked herself back up. What was surprising was that Namine really appreciated it instead of recoiling.

Riku smiled at her warmly when she looked at him, and she could help but feel warm inside at the compassion in his eyes that was all for her. Nobody had looked at her like that in a very, very long time it seemed.

They both shifted their gazes towards the sunset, unconsciously scooting closer together. Like magnets, sort of.

"Thanks for coming with me," Riku said, nudging Namine. She nudged him back. "I really appreciate it."

"I needed the trip. You were right. I'm starting to feel better already."

"Really? I thought you were mad at you dad right now."

Namine shrugged. "I'll get over it." She paused, turning another, slightly darker shade of pink. "Thanks for being there when I… You know…"

"Lost it?" Riku smiled wide, teasing her playfully.

Namine rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever."

The sky began turning pink, and then orange as the time stretched on, quiet and peaceful. Riku laid back into the land, closing his eyes, hiding their minty color. They'd been more of a mint than an aquamarine lately, Namine noticed. They were… Well, pretty. She didn't say it, though.

As the sky grew darker and the sun set ended, Namine lay back next to Riku and stared at the first couple of stars that appeared in the sky. She could see the moon out of the corner of her eye, big and full, glowing a sort of golden color that was luxurious and picturesque. One by one, more stars peaked out from their hiding placed and glittered brightly, the background sky fading into Namine's favorite shade of dark blue. It matched her sweater, which Namine was sure to grab this time before they left the truck.

Riku folded his hands behind his head and didn't open his eyes. Namine thought he was sleeping for a while as she admired what was set out before her. She lost herself in thought, thinking about her entire summer. This time, though, she didn't focus on all the bad things that had happened. She got to g to a couple of awesome parties, saved up enough money at her new job to go on one heak of a shopping spree when she got home, and best of all, she met one pretty amazing person.

Riku turned his head towards her, making her jump a little at the sudden movement. He opened his eyes, which were illuminated even in the dark. She could see them so clearly.

"It's kinda late. You tired?" he asked, propping himself up on one elbow and staring down at Namine, who just stared back like a little kid. "I saw a hotel about a mile back."

Namine nodded a little. "Yeah, sure. Sounds great."

For a while, both of them didn't move. They just laid there, staring at each other, eyes locked. Namine felt like she was going to say something but forgot, which she hated and made her feel all squirmy. The brilliance behind Riku's eyes, so bright and staring straight into hers, made the butterflies in her stomach flap their wings so hard Namine feared that she might float into space, or maybe explode. She was frozen, and couldn't move while he had her locked there, seeing nothing beyond his face.

"Uhh," she breathed, forcefully ripping herself back before she completely lost it. Before she even sat up Riku was standing tall over, his hand stretched out for hers. She took it gratefully, still awestruck, and stumbled a little when she was on her feet. Riku wrapped his arm around her waist, catching her. He let go of her quickly, rubbing the back of his neck a little as they began their way back up to beach.

They walked slowly, walking closely side-by-side, their hands almost touching. It made Namine's butterflies cease to settle down as she yearned to touch him, chest aching. She felt like she was fifteen again, tripping all over herself. She'd realized a while ago that she was in love with Riku, but she hadn't had the chance to really _feel_ it before, considering how she pushed herself away from him constantly. But it was different now, because there was no Roxas. The only person who stood in Namine's way was herself. She knew that as soon as she said the word, Riku would be hers in a heartbeat (like he wasn't already). But Namine still couldn't seem to let go of what was left that she was latched onto, stubborn and still unforgiving towards herself. Her heart had always taken a long time to heal from even the smallest things.

They finally reached the truck, coming to a stop right next to the driver's side door. Namine had no idea why she lingered instead of walking around to her own side. She just stood there, and so did Riku, and they watched each other for the longest time.

Finally, Riku spoke, breaking the quiet. "You okay?" he finally asked as Namine leaned against the car, folding and unfolding her arms.

Namine nodded, a little too quickly. She stared down at her feet, wondering what was wrong with her. She tried to think of something to say. "I guess I just want to look at the stars a little longer," she looked up automatically, mentally slapping herself when Riku cocked an eyebrow. She was acting like such a _dumbass_! She didn't even know why she was all of a sudden so uneasy. Or why she couldn't stand to be away from Riku for two seconds to walk around to her own side of the truck.

Suddenly Riku was leaning next to her, acting like she wasn't a total idiot. He seemed to be staring at the same big star Namine was staring at when he looked up and sighed, inhaling the crisp night air. "It's beautiful, huh?"

Namine nodded pathetically.

"It really makes you get lost, you know? Whenever I was angry or depressed I'd always just go outside late at night and all this beauty really had a way of taking my mind of things. You know what I mean?" he asked, craning his head towards her.

"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean." Namine said, and meant it. Her favorite time of the day was always midnight, and for that reason. Being an overdramatic teenager, it was understandable.

For just a little while longer they stood there, arms pressed together through their sweaters, just to feel a little extra warmth. Namine felt herself calming and her muscles ease up again. She relaxed the side of Riku's old truck, which was surprisingly smooth and fit the curve of her back just right.

But then, all too soon, Riku was ready to leave again. "Might as well get going," he said, stretching his arms over his head and yawning. Namine tried not to stare.

"Yeah…" she hid the tone of disappointment in her voice and made her way towards her door. She felt like she was missing something all of a sudden and it annoyed her.

Riku pulled into the highway, and then unconsciously reached down for her hand. Once their skin made contact, he quickly took his hand back, a little embarrassed.

"Sorry," he stuttered, tapping the wheel with his forefinger awkwardly.

They drove in silence for a mile until Riku reached the hotel he'd been talking about and pulled into the parking lot. Instead of parking all the way in the first row like last time he parked in what Namine would have described as the darkest, most secluded corner he could find. But Namine didn't say anything as he killed the engine and leaned back in his seat, sighing, and whipped his forehead with the back of his hand. He really did look tired – practically shot.

After a moment of just sitting there, Riku gathered up his strength and reached across Namine to open her door for her. His arm brushed across her chest a little and her heart rate sped up at the closeness. He pushed the door open with his hand and leaned back to open up his own door after her a wistful glance and whispering just under his breath, "C'mon."

Namine clutched at her stomach as it did back flips. He was so cute, even when he was exhausted.

Namine helped herself down, hopping to the ground, and wiggled her toes a little before walking around to see Riku there, still standing by the open door, staring up in the opposite direction. Namine turned to see what he was looking at – the moon. In just a few short minutes it seemed to have grown three times in size and an even richer shade of golden. It was breathtaking, but it made Namine sad. She couldn't enjoy it feeling so anxious next to Riku.

Finally, Riku slammed his door shut, flinching a little at the loud _bang_. He rested his hand against the window and leaned against it for a moment, yawning.

Namine folded her arms, watching him, and he looked up at her suddenly. For the millionth time tonight she was trapped by his eyes, frozen and unable to feel her limbs. It was crazy how much namine knew, even as she pushed the thought away, she liked him. A lot. Never had anyone one being been about to sweet her off her feet with just a look. But she was so dang stubborn…

Riku cut off her train of thought, pulling her back from her reverie. He rubbed his arms to ward off the chilly breeze and asked, "So, uh, let's go? I'd love to sit here staring at the moon all night but I might collapse on the pavement if I don't-"

"Hold on," Namine held up her hand, taking a few steps toward him. He gave her a quizzical look, which made her even weaker in the knees. She stopped about a foot away from where he was standing, so she could see him through the darkness. And because she felt the need to be as close to him as possible, or the life would be sucked out of her. How much she could obsess over one person…. "Can I ask you a question?"

Riku raised an eyebrow. "Depends. Do I have to answer?"

Namine nodded. "I was just wondering what happened to your ear-"

Riku's eyes widened, and then suddenly he felt it. A slight pain under his right ear, like he'd been stung by a bee. He reached his hand up to touch it but Namine stopped him, pushing his arm away as she tilted her head, leaning towards it. There was a tiny splotch of blood right under his ear, at the top of his jaw and it looked slightly infected – sort of purplish and there was sand grounded into it. Namine bit her tongue and leaned away from it again, shaking her head.

"How did you do that?"

Riku shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't even notice it until you pointed it out."

"I'm sure someone in the hotel has something to clean it out. It's just a little cut but it's kind of deep…"

Namine and Riku walked across the parking lot to a hotel that was a bit nicer than the one they stayed at the night before. Namine asked the poor lady at the counter who was just barely awake for a room and something to put on Riku's ear. Riku reached into his pocket for some money but Namine paid with her own before he even pulled out his wallet. "You paid last time," she whispered when he just stared at her. The tired lady behind the desk told Namine that there was some medicine in the cabinet below the TV in their room, to have a good night, and then handed them the keys.

They took an elevator up to the fourth level of the hotel and down a couple hallways till Namine reached the door and unlocked it. Riku half stumbled inside and took a seat on the, yet again, single bed. People didn't even ask before assuming they were a couple, but deep down namine was flattered. She probably looked downright ugly standing next to him – not the picture perfect couple.

Namine decided she didn't care anymore if she had to share a bed with Riku as she reached into a cabinet under the TV for a small box milled with all sorts of light medicines. She fumbled through it till she found a bottle of alcohol to wash the cut off with. She grabbed a wash cloth and sat on the bed next to Riku, pouring small amount of alcohol onto the washcloth and dabbing it under Riku's ear at the blood. She didn't realize that their legs were touching as she worked at his cut, scrubbing away until it shined with health. Only when Riku spoke did she see that their faces were inches apart.

"Thanks," a smiled crookedly a little, sheepish.

"No problem…" Namine got up, putting distance between them. She put the washcloth on the bathroom counter and set the alcohol back in the box where it belonged, taking her time before facing Riku again, who sat there watching her.

"You didn't have to do all that, you know," Riku said as he watched Namine immerge from the bathroom. "It's just a cut. I probably got it from some piece of glass lying on the beach."

Namine wrinkled her nose. "Some people are so damn stupid. No respect for anything at all. Garbage on the streets, glass on the beach -"

"Namine, it's no big deal. It happens all the time – I'm fine." Riku chuckled, scooting over to make a little more room for Namine as she came back to sit next to him again.

"It could've gotten infected." Namine smiled, trying to make a joke. "You should be bowing at my feet. I probably just saved your life."

Riku smiled, but it wasn't like a laughing smile. It was warm and affectionate, and Namine again felt lucky that it was directed to her. And then his gaze turned slightly more serious as he leaned in a bit, not on purpose. "Well, thanks for caring about me." There was a long pause as his mint orbs stared right into her, and Namine stopped breathing. "You know how much I care about you, don't you?"

Namine felt dizzy. She tried to pull away, but she could seem to move her limbs. All she felt was the beating of her hear, thump-thumping against her chest.

"Do you?" Riku asked again, his cheek brushing hers as he lowered his lips to her ear.

Namine wanted to run away and never look back. She still felt so held back… unsure. Somewhere her heart had yet to be healed and it was dark and cold and alone – the part of her that was still latched onto all the regret and guilt, the sting and the torture, her entire disaster of a summer. She knew what was holding her back now – not just her stubbornness but fear. Though she knew no part of Riku to be afraid of. Every ounce of his being had proven to her otherwise, and that he was honest and loving and really meant the things he said. But maybe _that _was what she was afraid of, right after Roxas had left her. That it just wouldn't last and she'd get in her own way again, screwing things up like she always did.

But then Riku pulled his head back a little, staring at her so lovingly and warmhearted. Namine felt fresh tears that she thought she was out of. "Riku, I don't know if I can-"

Riku held up his hand to stop her, just like she had in the parking lot. "It's my turn to ask a question." He took a deep breath, and his hands somehow found their way up her arms.

"Riku, I-" Namine's voice cracked. She hated this. She was torn and didn't know what to do, being ripped apart by her inability to let go and Riku's tenderness.

"What would you do," Riku started, completely serious. He seemed so awake now. "What would you do if I said I loved you?"

The pain in Namine's chest swelled to the size of mars. She quickly tried to change the subject. "How does your ear feel? Does it still sting a li-"

"Namine," Riku said in a firmer tone of voice. "You didn't answer my question."

Namine swallowed hard, unable to think of anything to say. There was no way out of this. "I.." she tried, but quickly gave up. "I don't know."

Riku closed his eyes for a moment, thinking. He leaned back into her ear, his lips brushing against the skin. Namine was going crazy inside. She closed her eyes shut tight, waiting.

"I love you."

And then suddenly, through all her frustration and pain, at the sound of those three words… A sudden realization and her mind cleared. And just like that, so simply, she let go of it all, everything, the entire summer that had felt so impossible just a few seconds before. And then it came…

Peace.

It washed through her body like a wave, making her limbs numb for a second and then her heart beat slowed calmingly and she didn't feel so bad. Nowhere in her mind or heart was there any room for Roxas and the guilt attached to his name anymore. He was a distant memory, numbed and buried deep within the depths of her heart where he may very well be forgotten forever - no longer of any importance. She'd done all her crying, all her morning. She was surprised to find that she was just… Over it. _Just like that._ It was so easy.

All that mattered right now was Riku, right in front of her, within reaching distance.

Riku had no idea that she just probably had a major epiphany. He was still trying to coax her into his arms, waiting for her to say something back. Instead, catching him off guard and almost making him jump off the bed, she threw her arms around him like it was an impulse with him being so close. He froze for a moment, taken back. He wrapped his arms around her firmly, holding her back, but couldn't keep from asking, "_Namine_?"

"I'm so sorry," Namine buried her head in his shoulder, finally for the first time all summer, savoring his warmth like she'd always wanted to. "I'm so _stupid_."

Riku still didn't get it.

Without wasting any more time, Namine kissed his neck and whispered. "I love you, too. I really, really do. I'm sorry I was so stubborn. I need you, and I just really hope you can f-"

Riku's lips cut her off.

Namine's eyes grew wide, and she couldn't move for a moment as Riku kissed her with all the passion he'd built up inside himself the entire summer, waiting for her to stop being a dumb ass and realize what she really needed – him. Slowly, she leaned into him and kissed him back with the same amount of force, wrapping her arms around his neck as he eased her back against the bed, cupping her cheeks in his hands. Their lips moved together in a smooth slow motion as Riku tilted Namine's chin to fit her face even closer against his.

Namine felt like the entire hotel had been electrified by their kiss when they broke apart for a few short second to breathe. He hovered over her like an angel, pushing her deeper into the blankets and the sheets as he kissed her again and again, enfolding her in his arms. He said that he loved her over and over again, tangling his fingers in her hair and breathing her in. Namine took in the full wattage of his eyes, knowing that this was right. So right.

The night went on and for at least right now, all that mattered to them was each other, the quiet hotel room, and the moon shining brightly outside the open window. Namine couldn't ask for a more perfect world. It was the perfect ending to her calamity of a summer, here in California, land of the summer boys.

**A/N: **I hope the ending of this chapter was okay.I rewrote it so many times and I'm tired as hell. I'm still not all that satisfied with it, but I really hope all of you are. I re-wrote so many parts of this chapter over and over again. My head hurts.

Okay, so halfway through this chapter I was like "yeah, this is the last chapter." And then near the end it just didn't feel complete. So there will be another chapter – but just more of an epilogue thing. Like maybe the last part of the road trip and Namine getting to meet Riku's mother or something.

It'll be posted as soon as I can manage. I swear. I have to finish by the end of summer anyways, so at most, it'll be a mere month (in comparison to the last three. Ungh).

Hey, just so you know, I posted a link to the "Summer Boys soundtrack" on my profile if you'd like to go check that out. Thanks.

_Review if you like_, and I'll get back to you!


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